SAULT STE MARIE, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University men's basketball team suffered a setback on the road against No. 14 Lake Superior State in a 73-44 loss on Saturday afternoon. The Cardinals (5-7, 1-3 GLIAC) struggled from deep shooting 3-for-25 and were outrebounded 55-32 in the losing effort.
Elijah Mattingly led the way for SVSU with 11 points on 5-for-9 shooting. He added three rebounds and a steal to his totals. Toodles Seal finished with eight points, six rebounds, and two blocks while Freddie McIntosh scored seven points, hauled in four rebounds, and had two assists and two steals. Nate Washburn finished with six points and four rebounds to help the effort off the bench.
The Lakers (12-2, 3-1 GLIAC) hopped out to a quick 10-6 lead in the opening seven minutes of play before Mattingly capped off a 5-0 run started by Dontez Scott II hitting a three-pointer and the Cardinals took their first lead, 11-10, at the 12:07 mark.
LSSU snagged the advantage back with a layup on the next possession and extended the margin to 17-11 as SVSU experienced a three-minute and 56-second scoring drought. A three from McIntosh ended the slump for the Cardinals and the lead was trimmed to 17-14. A 7-0 run by Lake Superior State pushed the advantage to 10 points, and the Lakers would maintain the cushion with a 38-24 edge as the teams entered the locker room at the half.
The Cardinals finished the first half 11-for-33 shooting from the floor and just 2-for-15 from deep. LSSU was 40.5% from the floor and made four of 17 attempts from beyond the arc.
The second half continued like the first ended with Saginaw Valley State couldn't get the offense going as the Lakers padded the lead to almost 30 before the end of regulation. The Cardinal's shooting woes continued through the second half as they went 9-for-30 from the floor and 1-for-10 from three in the closing 20 minutes.
UP NEXT: SVSU will look for the first win of 2025 when Purdue Northwest visits O'Neill Arena on Thursday, January 9 for a 7:30 p.m. (ET), tipoff.