Men's Basketball Defeats Saginaw Valley 86-84

The Northwood University men's basketball team closed out the regular season with a dramatic 86-84 win over rival Saginaw Valley State Thursday night (February 27).

Northwood finishes the regular season 18-12 overall, 14-8 in the GLIAC. SVSU stands at 9-16, 5-16 in the GLIAC.

The Timberwolves jumped out to an early lead, going up 13-6 in the opening minutes. NU led by as many as 14 in the opening half before settling for a 48-40 advantage at the break. Northwood shot the ball extremely well in the opening half, going 20-30 from the floor (66.7 percent). Senior forward Darvin Ham (Saginaw, Mich./Bridgeport) was the biggest part of NU's lead, scoring 23 points in half.

Northwood maintained the lead for almost the entire second half, but the Cardinals hung around the entire way. SVSU tied the score (84-84) for first time since early in the game with a layup with 40 seconds remaining. The Timberwolves responded on their final possession on a layup from Wes Wilcox (Roselle, Ill./Harper) off a pass from Will Bowles (East Detroit, Mich./Southlake). Northwood got a stop on defense to earn the win.

For the game, Northwood finished at 54.1 percent overall (33-61). The Timberwolves also went 10-22 from 3-point range (45.5 percent). SVSU finished at 42.2 percent (27-64) overall and 7-24 (29.2 percent)

Ham led the way for the Timberwolves, scoring a career-high 32 points. He also grabbed 11 rebounds. Bowles finished with 19 points and eight rebounds, while Dylan Langkabel (Morristown, Ind.) added 17 points. Wilcox added 12 points, all of which came in the second half.

Northwood will travel to the opening round of the GLIAC Tournament Wednesday (March 5). The time and opponent are to be determined.