Men's Basketball Falls At Saginaw Valley 74-64

OVERVIEW – SAGINAW VALLEY

SCORE:  Saginaw Valley State Cardinals 74, Northwood Timberwolves 64

RECORDS: Saginaw Valley (17-10, 10-10 GLIAC), Northwood (5-24, 3-17 GLIAC)

LOCATION: O'Neill Arena – University Center, Mich.

RECAP: Northwood leads the majority of the game but a big second-half push by Saginaw Valley gives the Cardinals a 74-64 win Saturday night (February 18).

FIRST HALF

• SVSU led by five points early, but Northwood was the better team the rest of the way.
• Northwood led for 13:35 of the opening half and led by as many as nine (20-11) before settling for a 36-28 edge at the break.
• The Timberwolves had a strong half on the offensive end, making 15-28 overall (53.6 percent) and 50.0 percent from 3-point range (4-8).
• SVSU finished the opening 20 minutes shooting 44.0 percent (11-25) overall and 30.0 percent from 3-point range 3-10).
• The Timberwolves used seven offensive rebounds to earn a 10-5 edge in second chance points in the half.

SECOND HALF

• Northwood maintained their lead throughout the opening 10 minutes of the second half, earning their biggest lead of the night at 51-40 seven minutes in.
• That is when SVSU got on a roll, going on a 22-4 run to open up a 62-55 lead with under four minutes to go.
• Northwood stayed close down the stretch until the final two minutes. NU trailed by three (64-61) when the Cardinals scored eight straight points to get the lead back up to 11 and put the game away.
• The Timberwolves shot 40.7 percent in the second half (11-27) while going 3-11 from 3-point range.
• Saginaw Valley elevated their offense in the second half, connecting on 63.0 percent of their shots from the field (17-27) while scoring 46 points after the break.

GAME STATS

• FG PERCENTAGE: Saginaw Valley .538 (28-52), Northwood .473 (26-55)
• 3-PT PERCENTAGE: Saginaw Valley .333 (6-18), Northwood .368 (7-19)
• FREE THROW PERCENTAGE: Saginaw Valley .545 (12-22), Northwood .500 (5-10)
• REBOUNDS: Saginaw Valley 31 (10 offensive), Northwood 34 (12 offensive)
• ASSISTS/TURNOVERS: Saginaw Valley 10/9, Northwood 8/16

GAME NOTES

• Northwood led for over 26 of the 40 minutes of the game.

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Nick Spitzley: 26 points (career-high), 11-19 from the floor, 3-8 from 3-point range
• Brad Schaub: 14 points, five rebounds
• PJ Weaver: 13 points, six rebounds

UP NEXT

• The Timberwolves will finish their season at home against Lake Superior State Thursday night (February 23). Game time is set for 8 p.m.