UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University men's basketball team suffered a 74-55 loss to Parkside inside O'Neill Arena on Thursday evening. The Cardinals (8-4, 1-2 GLIAC) fell to 1-2 in conference play after the loss. The defeat also halts a two-game winning streak for SVSU.
Meijer Player of the Game Toodles Seal led the way on both sides of the ball with 16 points and three blocks in the losing effort. Freddie McIntosh bounced back after a scoreless first half to finish with 11 points. Kevonne Taylor led with nine rebounds while scoring seven points. Curtis Jackson tallied eight points, six rebounds, and five assists.
The Rangers (7-6, 2-1 GLIAC) scored the first two buckets of the game in a slow start for both teams as the score was 4-0 during the first media timeout. Tre Garrett sparked a 6-0 run with a fast-break layup followed by two free throws as the Cardinals pulled ahead, 6-4, with 13:13 left on the clock. Garrett finished the game with nine points, five rebounds, and four steals. The score was tied twice more at eight and ten points before a 7-0 run started by Taylor gave SVSU its largest lead (17-10) with just under nine minutes to play in the half. Parkside answered with a 19-2 run that spanned almost six minutes of play and put the score at 29-19 in favor of the visitors with 2:31. The Cardinals trimmed the advantage to single digits as they went into the locker room down 33-24.
The Rangers held onto the lead for the entire second half, but SVSU continued to battle. The Cardinals got within three points of catching Parkside twice. The Rangers shut the door with a 9-0 run that extended the lead to 14, the lead moved to 19 at the final buzzer.
The Saginaw Valley State men's basketball team will regroup and try to rebound on Saturday, January 6, when the Cardinals host Purdue Northwest in a GLIAC doubleheader. The men tip off after the women's game, with a scheduled start of 3:00 p.m.
