Men's Basketball Drops Tough 72-70 Contest To SVSU

OVERVIEW – SAGINAW VALLEY

SCORE: Saginaw Valley State Cardinals 72, Northwood Timberwolves 70

RECORDS: Northwood (5-9, 5-9 GLIAC), Saginaw Valley (3-9, 3-9 GLIAC)

LOCATION: Riepma Arena – Midland, Mich.

RECAP:  Northwood men's basketball drops hard-fought 72-70 contest to Saginaw Valley Tuesday night (February 16).

FIRST HALF

• Saginaw Valley scored the opening five points of the game before Northwood later scored seven straight to lead 9-7.
• The Timberwolves led the majority of the opening 20 minutes and pushed their advantage to as many as seven (22-15).
• A Quentin Richardson 3-pointer on Northwood's final possession of the half gave NU a 32-31 lead at the break.
• The Timberwolves went 12-24 from the floor in the opening half (50.0 percent). They were 3-7 from 3-point range (.429) and 5-5 from the foul line.
• Saginaw Valley went 12-35 from the floor (34.3 percent) in the half while making 4-11 from beyond the three point arc (36.4 percent). SVSU was 3-4 from the foul line.

SECOND HALF

• The second half was extremely close – the biggest lead for either team as four points.
• The score was tied six times in the second half alone.
• Northwood was on top 70-67 with 1:30 remaining when SVSU scored on back-to-back possessions to take a 71-70 lead.
• Both teams struggled from the foul line in the final 24 seconds – NU missed both of their attempts while the Cardinals went 1-3.
• Northwood got the ball trailing by two after a pair of SVSU misses at the foul line with five seconds remaining, but the Timberwolves were unable to get a shot off.
• SVSU's efficient second-half offense was a big part of their win, as the Cardinals shot 60.9 percent from the floor after the break (14-23). Saginaw Valley went 6-10 from 3-point range (60.0 percent) and 7-12 from the foul line (58.3 percent).
• Northwood also had solid shooting numbers, finishing at 48.3 percent in the second half (14-29). NU was 3-5 from 3-point range (60.0 percent) and 7-9 from the foul line (77.9 percent).

GAME STATS

• FG PERCENTAGE: Saginaw Valley .448 (26-58), Northwood .491 (26-53)
• 3-PT PERCENTAGE: Saginaw Valley .476 (10-21), Northwood .500 (6-12)
• FREE THROW PERCENTAGE: Saginaw Valley .625 (10-16), Northwood .857 (12-14)
• REBOUNDS: Saginaw Valley 31 (Eight offensive), Northwood 32 (Five offensive)
• ASSISTS/TURNOVERS: Saginaw Valley 9/8, Northwood 12/11
• POINTS IN THE PAINT: Saginaw Valley 24, Northwood 32
• POINTS OFF TURNOVERS: Saginaw Valley 9, Northwood 11
• SECOND CHANCE POINTS: Saginaw Valley 6, Northwood 5
• BENCH POINTS: Saginaw Valley 7, Northwood 12

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Jack Ammerman: 20 points, 4-5 from 3-point range, six rebounds, two steals
• Evan Lowden: 13 points, seven rebounds, five assists
• Maurion Scott: 13 points, 6-9 from the floor

UP NEXT

• The Timberwolves travel to Ashland for a pair of game, starting Friday (February 19). Game time is set for 1 p.m.