Men's Basketball Earns Dramatic 64-63 Win Over Saginaw Valley

OVERVIEW – SAGINAW VALLEY STATE

SCORE:  Northwood Timberwolves 64, Saginaw Valley State Cardinals 63

RECORDS: Northwood (5-17, 3-10 GLIAC), Saginaw Valley (12-8, 5-8 GLIAC)

LOCATION: Riepma Arena – Midland, Mich.

RECAP: Northwood makes big plays down the stretch to earn dramatic 64-63 win over rival Saginaw Valley Saturday night (January 28).

FIRST HALF

• Northwood started strong, scoring eight of the first 10 points of the game in the opening 3:15.
• The Timberwolves eventually led by as many as 10 on two separate occasions. However, an 18-3 run by the Cardinals erased the lead and gave the Cardinals a 34-29 lead at the break.
• Northwood shot 38.7 percent from the field (12-31 and 38.5 percent from three-point range (5-13).
• The Cardinals finished at 46.7 percent of their shots from the field (14-30) overall and 42.9 percent from behind the arc (3-7).

SECOND HALF

• Northwood scored the first three points of the second half to cut the lead down to 34-32, which set up a tight second half.
• SVSU led by eight with just over 12 minutes to go (47-39), which proved to be the biggest lead of the second half.
• Northwood went on a 14-6 run to knot the game at 53 with 6:40 to go.
• SVSU connected on a 3-pointer with 1:19 remaining when junior Matt Crowl took over. He connected on a tip in and four free throws in the final 1:05.
• Crowl's two free throws with 2.6 seconds remaining put Northwood on top 64-63. The Cardinals' got off a shot from half court and narrowly missed it, hitting off the back iron to give NU the win.
• Northwood shot 39.3 percent in the second stanza (11-28) compared to the Cardinals at 44.4 percent (12-27). The Timberwolves earned the win thanks to going 10-13 from the foul line in the second half (76.9 percent) compared to SVSU at 3-7 (42.9 percent).

GAME STATS

• FG PERCENTAGE: Northwood .390 (23-59), Saginaw Valley .456 (26-57),
• 3-PT PERCENTAGE: Northwood .364 (8-22), Saginaw Valley .385 (5-13)
• FREE THROW PERCENTAGE: Northwood .769 (10-13), Saginaw Valley .545 (6-11)
• REBOUNDS: Northwood 39 (8 offensive), Saginaw Valley 33 (4 offensive)
• ASSISTS/TURNOVERS: Northwood 5/11, Saginaw Valley 8/10

GAME NOTES

• Second chance points were a big part of the win, as Northwood out-scored the Cardinals 10-2 for the game.

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Zach Allread: 15 points, eight rebounds, 3-5 from 3-point range, 4-4 on free throws
• Matt Crowl: 11 points, nine rebounds, 5-6 from the foul line
• PJ Weaver: nine points, five rebounds, two blocks
• Brad Schaub: 8 points, five rebounds

UP NEXT

• The Timberwolves will travel to Lake Superior State Monday (January 30). Game time is set for 7:30 p.m.