Men's Basketball Falls To Saginaw Valley State 76-72

MIDLAND, MICH. – The Northwood University men's basketball team dropped a hard-fought 76-72 contest at home to Saginaw Valley State Saturday night (February 7).

Northwood falls to 12-11 overall, 8-9 in the GLIAC. SVSU moves to solo possession of first place in the GLIAC at 19-4 overall, 15-2 in the GLIAC.

The opening half featured big runs by both teams. Northwood was the hot team to start, opening up an 11-2 lead in less than three minutes. SVSU responded, scoring 23 of the next 27 points to take a 25-15 lead with 7:46 remaining in the half. NU trailed 34-24 with less than three minutes on the clock when the Timberwolves made the final push of the half. NU scored 10 straight points in less than two minutes, tying the game once again at 34-34. SVSU ended up with a 39-36 lead at halftime.  The Cardinals shot 58.3 percent from the floor in the half (14-24) compared to the Timberwolves at 41.9 percent (13-31).

The second half was extremely tight from start to finish. Saginaw Valley led 46-40 with 16:57 remaining – that would prove to be the biggest lead for either team in the second half. The game was tied at 72-72 with 30 seconds remaining when both teams turned it over. SVSU, who struggled from the foul line throughout the game, connected on three of four free throws on back-to-back possessions to open up a 75-72 lead. NU did not score on their final four possessions of the game, giving the Cardinals the win.

SVSU finished the game shooting 58.5 percent from the floor (24-41), while Northwood ended up at 44.8 percent (26-58). Both teams went 6-15 from 3-point range. The Cardinals went 22-41 from the foul line (53.7 percent), compared to the Timberwolves at 14-16 (87.5 percent).

Three Timberwolves finished in double figures, led by Maurice Jones (Saginaw, Mich./USC) and Dylan Langkabel (Morristown, Ind.). They shared game-high honors with 22 points. Jones added seven assists, while Langkabel had eight rebounds. Will Bowles (East Detroit, Mich./South Lake) ended up with 16 points and nine rebounds.

Northwood will host Ferris State Thursday night (February 12). Game time is set for 6 p.m.