DETROIT – The Saginaw Valley State University men's basketball team took control and never let go in a 61-48 win on the road versus Wayne State. The Cardinals (11-9, 6-4 GLIAC) used a 10-0 run to begin the game and never looked back.

Chansey Willis Jr. matched his career-high of 18 points to lead the way for SVSU. The true freshman guard added six rebounds, four assists, and a steal to his totals. Freddie McIntosh had 12 points, six rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Tre Garrett finished with 11 points, six rebounds, and five steals.

Tyrik Singh scored the first seven points for the Cardinals in the opening 2:06 of the first half. Singh hit both free throws before drilling a three-point jumper and a two-point shot in back-to-back possessions. Garrett then made a free throw and Maurice Barnett capped the run with a layup as the Cardinals hopped out to a 10-0 lead with 14:30 on the clock. The Warriors cut the lead to four with six straight points. Garrett responded with a layup that ignited a 12-2 run that extended the lead to 14 points (22-8) with 8:05 left in the half. Wayne State trimmed the deficit to 11 but could get any closer than that as the Cardinals entered the locker room at the half with a 37-24 edge.

Wayne State made the first two buckets to cut the margin to nine but would get no closer. Garrett used a jumper to start a 5-0 run to build back a double-digit lead and it would never dip below that mark for the remainder.

The Cardinals hauled in 39 rebounds and scored 19 points off turnovers. SVSU held a 30-14 advantage in points scored in the paint and an 18-8 edge in fastbreak points.

UP NEXT

The Saginaw Valley men's basketball team will make the trip north for a matchup with Northern Michigan on Thursday, February 2 with a 5:30 p.m. tip-off.