Men's Basketball Falls At SVSU 98-94 In Overtime

UNIVERSITY CENTER, MICH. – The Northwood University men's basketball team dropped a tough 94-90 overtime contest at GLIAC-leading Saginaw Valley State Saturday night (January 17).

Northwood falls to 10-6 overall, 6-4 in the GLIAC. SVSU has now won 12 straight to improve to 13-2 overall, 10-0 in the GLIAC.

The Timberwolves played a strong opening half, leading by as many 10. SVSU finished the half strong, cutting the lead down to 47-43 at the break. Northwood shot 61.3 percent from the floor in the opening half (19-31), while Saginaw Valley finished at 44.4 percent (12-27). SVSU made eight more free throws (13-5) to overcome NU's shooting advantage.

Saginaw Valley scored the first eight points of the second half to go back on top. The Cardinals eventually led by as many as seven points before Northwood fought back. The Timberwolves eventually went up 84-80 with less than a minute to go. SVSU converted a pair of free throws and a layup in the final seconds to tie the game and send the contest to overtime.

The Cardinals were the better team in overtime, scoring the first six points in the extra session and holding Northwood off the board for nearly four minutes.

For the game, Northwood shot 50.7 percent overall (37-73), while SVSU finished at 50.0 percent (26-52). The key to the game proved to be the foul line and 3-point shooting. SVSU went to the line 55 times, converting 35 of those attempts. NU finished at 15-20 overall. Northwood was also out-scored from 3-point range 33-15 for the game.

Maurice Jones (Saginaw, Mich./USC) led all scorers with 27 points. He also added eight assists and three steals. Will Bowles (East Detroit, Mich./South Lake) added 23 points and a game-high 15 rebounds for Northwood. Jermaine Myers (Ajax, Ont./Fordham U) had 16, while Khalid King (Columbus, Ohio/North Carolina A&T) and Dylan Langkabel (Morristown,Ind.) added 12 & 11, respectively.

Northwood will travel to Ferris State Thursday night (January 22). Game time is set for 8 p.m.