EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Saginaw Valley State University men's basketball team got the 2010-11 season off to a start with an exhibition loss to the #2 ranked Michigan State Spartans Tuesday (Nov. 2) by a  score of 88-44.

The Cardinals entered the locker room at halftime, trailing 42-24.  Saginaw Valley managed to cut the Spartan lead to nine at the 11:01 mark on a fastbreak lay-up off the hands of sophomore guard Chris Webb (Saginaw, Mich./Arthur Hill HS).  Leading the way offensively for the Cardinals in the first half was Meijer "Player of the Game" junior guard Greg Foster (Indianapolis, Ind./T.C. Howe HS) who posted seven points and three rebounds.  Foster would end the game with a team-high 12 points, five rebounds, five assists, two steals and had one block on the night.

Saginaw Valley was unable to find an offensive rythm in the second half as they struggled to catch the Spartan's advantage, falling 88-44.  As a team, the Cardinals went five-for-eight from the free-throw line.  Sophomore Mike Schaaf (Saginaw, Mich./Arthur Hill HS) finished the game with seven points, seven rebounds and had one assist while freshman Patrick O'Brien (Flint, Mich./Powers Catholic HS) ended the night with seven points, two rebounds, one assist and posted one steal.

With the loss, the Cardinals fall to 0-1 overall in the exhibition portion of their season while Michigan State moves to 1-0.  Saginaw Valley will return to action this Friday (Nov. 5), as they travel to Ann Arbor to face the University of Michigan Wolverines in an exhibition match-up.  Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 pm.