HILLSDALE, Mich. — The Saginaw Valley State University men's basketball team faced Hillsdale on the road for the second game of a home-and-home matchup to begin the season. The Cardinals (2-0) earned the 80-73 win on Sunday afternoon to complete the sweep of the Chargers (0-2) for the first time since 2003 and begin the Chris Fowler era with a 2-0 start to the season, the first since the 2016-17 season.

 

"It is always good to get a win on the road against a tough team. Everyone who entered the game today contributed to the victory," said SVSU head basketball coach Chris Fowler. "We have a lot of room left to grow, but winning isn't easy. We will enjoy it and get back to the practice court this week."

 

Meijer Player of the Game Dontez Scott II (Romulus, Mich. / Summit Academy North) led the way for SVSU with a career-high 21 points that came on 4-of-7 shooting from the floor. Scott made two of his three attempts from the three-point line and was nearly perfect (11-of-12) from the free-throw line in the win.

 

The Cardinals trailed 5-2 early, but Scott flipped the advantage back with a layup that sparked a 6-0 run and put SVSU on top, 8-5, with 16:12 on the clock.

 

Triston Nichols (Shelby Twp., Mich. / De La Salle HS) scored five points on back-to-back possessions and Saginaw Valley cruised to a 32-16 lead with just under eight minutes left in the first half.

 

The Chargers rallied with a 13-0 run to trim the deficit to three points (32-29) at the 4:39 mark of the opening frame. Scott drilled a three-point jumper to move ahead by six points, but Connor Stonebraker answered with his own shot from deep that finished a 5-0 run and put the score at 35-34 with 2:30 remaining before the half.

 

Trenton Taratuta (Hillman, Mich. / Hillman HS) made a jumper from behind the arc to move ahead four, and SVSU kept ahold of the lead (42-39) as the teams entered the locker room at the break.

 

The Cardinals shot 51.7% from the floor (15-of-29) and were 6-of-13 from deep and outscored Hillsdale 13-0 in fast break points through the first 20 minutes of play.

 

Scott made a layup on the first SVSU possession of the second half that sparked nine-straight points for the Cardinals and put Saginaw Valley State back in front by double digits (51-41) at the 15:41 mark. Bryson Huckeby (Freeland, Mich. / Anderson University) made two free throws and a three-point jumper to contribute to the run.

 

Hillsdale stormed back to cut the margin in half with a 5-0 run, but the Cardinals continued to hold onto the advantage as the game moved deep into regulation.

 

Caleb Glaser made a layup with 1:42 left to play to draw the Chargers within two points of SVSU, but Huckeby drilled another three on the next possession to move the Cardinals' lead to 73-68 with 71 ticks left on the clock. Scott then made 7-of-8 free throw attempts down the stretch to secure the win for Saginaw Valley State.

 

Scott added two assists and a block to his team-leading numbers in the winning effort. Nichols finished the game with a season-high 13 points, four assists, five rebounds, and three steals. Huckeby also scored double-digit points with 10 while also adding five rebounds, a steal, and a block. Xavier Thomas (Detroit, Mich. / Toledo) and Aidan Duran (Spring, Texas / Victory Rock Prep) scored seven points while hauling in a team-high six rebounds.

 

UP NEXT: The Cardinals remain on the road for a trip to Romeoville, Illinois, to face Lewis this Wednesday, November 19, at 7:00 p.m. (ET).