UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. -- The Saginaw Valley State University men's basketball team had a record-setting night in a 104-51 win over Kuyper College in O'Neill Arena. The Cardinals (7-2) set single-game program records in team assists, with thirty-four, and shot 20-of-50 from beyond the arc to break the single-game team record in threes made and attempted.

 

"I thought we started off very well. The team started very unselfish; we were sharing the ball, we were able to knock shots down," said SVSU head coach Chris Fowler. "We executed the game plan that we wanted to execute defensively and were able to get back in the win column, and it was important for us to do that today."

 

Meijer Player of the Game, Trenton Taratuta (Hillman, Mich. / Hillman HS), also broke two individual single-game records in threes made and threes attempted, shooting 10-of-20 from downtown. He finished the game with thirty points, five assists, and four rebounds.

 

Seven Cardinals made a three-pointer against the Cougars, tying the team high for the season. SVSU started the game on a 19-2 run and did not look back, outscoring Kuyper 60-22 in the first half. Dontez Scott II (Romulus, Mich. / Romulus HS) and Marquese Josephs (Mississauga, Ont. / Dream City Christian) both had a big impact in the first half with twelve points and eleven points, respectively. They both finished with fourteen.

 

In the second half, Taratuta made the team's eighteenth three, which broke the previous single-game team record to make the score 86-35. The next Cardinal bucket went to Jake Champagne (Oxford, Mich. / Oxford HS) for his first career field goal. Taratuta had another record-breaking play when he got the team's thirty-third assist when he hit Cade Wallaker (Bay City, Mich. / Essexville Garber HS) for a layup, and his first career points. The final SVSU bucket of the game went to Taratuta as well, as he hit his record-breaking tenth three-pointer with forty-five seconds to go to make the score 104-to-51.

 

Aidan Duran (Spring, Texas / Victory Rock Prep) scored 14 points with five rebounds, three steals, and two assists, becoming the fourth Cardinal in double digits. Javontae Ross (Flint, Mich. / Flint Powers HS) debuted with seven rebounds and two blocks, plus seven points and four assists. Triston Nichols (Shelby Twp., Mich. / De La Salle HS) led the team with seven assists. Bryson Huckeby (Freeland, Mich. / Freeland HS) co-led in steals with three, adding eight points and two assists.

 

UP NEXT: The Cardinals welcome Northwood for a rivalry game and their final non-conference game of the season on Saturday, December 20, at 7:00 p.m. (ET) in O'Neill Arena.