SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. - The Saginaw Valley
men's basketball team defeated Lake Superior State today (Dec. 12),
80-77 in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC)
match-up.
The Cardinals trailed the Lakers until senior Avery Stephenson
(Romulus, Mich.) connected on two free throws with eighteen seconds
left in the half to give Saginaw Valley the one point advantage
heading into the locker room. Stephenson led the Cardinals
with 14 points and three rebounds, while Keithan Jackson
(Grand Rapids, Mich. / Godwin Heights HS) scored five points and
pulled down four rebounds. Jackson ended the afternoon with
11 points and nine rebounds.
Saginaw Valley came out of the locker room strong as Stephenson
advanced the Cardinal lead to 15 off a dunk on an assist from
freshman Chris
Webb (Saginaw, Mich. / Arthur Hill HS) with 2:36 remaining in
the game. Sophomore Greg Foster
(Indianapolis, Ind. / T.C. Howe HS) scored 13 of his 15 total
points in the second half, while Stephenson added 20 for Saginaw
Valley.
The Cardinals were led by Stephenson, who ended the afternoon
with a career-high 34 points, while Foster posted his first
double-double of the season, scoring 15 points and grabbing 10
rebounds. Senior Adam Gries (Freemont,
Ohio / Ross HS) added 10 points and four rebounds for Saginaw
Valley.
With the win, the Cardinals improve to 5-2 overall on the season
and 2-1 in the GLIAC while Lake Superior State falls to 3-4 overall
on the season and 2-1 in the GLIAC. Saginaw Valley returns to
action on Saturday (Dec 19), when it hosts Ashland
University. Tip off is set 3:00pm.
