UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University men's basketball team rallied from a halftime deficit to take control in the second half against rival Northwood University in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contest Thursday at the James E. O'Neill Jr. Arena.
After Freddie McIntosh made a pair of free throws for SVSU with 43 seconds to play, the Cardinals led by three points, but Northwood's Jack Ammerman answered with a 3-pointer to send the game to overtime tied at 79-79. SVSU scored the first 11 points of the extra frame and earned the 92-82 victory to move to 6-3 overall and 2-1 in the GLIAC.
How it Happened:
- Northwood started fast and led 7-1 just over two minutes into the first half.
- A 7-0 run gave the Cardinals their first lead at 8-7 with 15 minutes to play in the first.
- Northwood went back in front and a 3-pointer from Jack Ammerman put the Timberwolves up 20-12.
- After Tyrik Singh made a layup with five minutes to go in the first to give SVSU the lead 26-25, the Timberwolves answered and took a 40-32 advantage into the break.
- The Cardinals, led by Tyler Witz chipped away quickly in the second half. Witz hit a layup with 17 minutes to go to cut the deficit to 42-39.
- Ammerman continued to be a leader for Northwood from deep, hitting a 3-pointer with 11:43 to play to put his team up 55-45.
- SVSU rallied back again, taking a two-point lead with just under five to play.
- Darnell Hoskins Jr. hit a 3-pointer from the corner to stretch the SVSU lead to 71-67 with 3:14 to go.
- Freddie McIntosh converted a pair of free throws with 43 seconds left to give SVSU a 79-76 lead but the game was sent to overtime on another Ammerman triple.
- The OT session was all SVSU, starting with back-to-back layups from Witz.
- Delano Smith did the rest of the damage for SVSU scoring the final nine Cardinal points of the overtime, including five free throws.
Inside the Box Score:
- Witz led the Cardinals with 27 points on 13-of-21 shooting. He added 14 rebounds for a double-double and five blocks.
- Delano Smith added 25 points, including 13-of-16 at the line. He recorded six assists and three steals.
- Darnell Hoskins Jr. finished with 12 points.
- Tyrik Singh chipped in with 11 points off the bench.
- SVSU totaled 10 blocks as a team.
- The Cardinals shot 34-of-70 from the field, 4-of-18 from deep, and 20-of-29 at the line. SVSU was outrebounded 44-40.
- Jack Ammerman led all scorers for Northwood with 33 points, hitting nine 3-pointers.
Up Next:
The Cardinals remain home to host Grace Christian University at 3 pm Sunday at the James E. O'Neill Jr. Arena.
Postgame Interview with Head Coach Randy Baruth:
