UNIVERSITY CENTER, MICH. – The Saginaw Valley State University men's basketball team suffered a 71-63 defeat to Purdue Northwest on Sunday afternoon inside O'Neill Arena. The Cardinals' (8-4, 2-2 GLIAC) late rally came up just short as the Pride (6-5, 2-2 GLIAC) did just enough to hold out for the victory.
"Those guys [Purdue Northwest] played to their strengths, and they did what they did really well, so credit to them," said head coach Chris Fowler. "We gotta start the game with a little more urgency. As a staff, we made some adjustments down the stretch that we probably should have done at the beginning, but we will get better and continue to put people in good positions to succeed."
Meijer Player of the Game Marquese Josephs (Mississauga, Ontario) led SVSU with 19 points, three rebounds, and three assists. The junior guard was 6-for-6 from the floor before missing from behind the arc in the closing seconds of the contest.
"We know how gifted he is athletically and as a downhill driver, and he can make some things happen when he plays that way. He's athletic, he's strong, he's a really good finisher at the rim, and he's starting to come along as a jump shooter. When he plays downhill with a lot of force, he is capable of doing that," lauded Fowler.
The Cardinals fell behind early as PNW started hot, making its first six shots from the floor, including a 3-for-3 start from deep, building a 15-7 lead at 16:31 in the first half.
The lead grew to double digits (22-12) a few minutes later and stayed around that margin through the middle of the half.
Dontez Scott II (Romulus, Mich. / Summit Academy North) hit a turnaround jumper at 6:11 to spark an 8-0 run for SVSU. It lasted 3:16 and cut the gap to two (31-29).
Purdue Northwest responded with a 13-1 run, ending the half with a buzzer-beater to put SVSU down 44-30 at the break.
PNW shot 9-for-18 from three-point range in the first half. Scott III led the Cardinals with 12 points on 5-for-8 shooting.
Saginaw Valley closed the gap to five points, 53-48, on a jumper from Josephs off a turnover with 11:06 left in the game.
The Pride countered with eight points in the paint, six of those off turnovers, to match the team's largest lead of 14 points (66-52) with just under five minutes (4:54) left in regulation.
Xavier Thomas (Detroit, Mich. / Brother Rice HS) started and ended an 11-0 run for SVSU with a pair of made free throws. He hit the first two with 4:30 left on the clock before hitting the final pair with 65 ticks remaining to narrow the margin to just three points (66-63).
PNW hit a three-pointer on the next possession, moved up by six, and leaned on its defense to secure the win.
Josephs had his second-highest point total and 11th double-digit game this season. Scott II finished with 14 points, three rebounds, and three assists. Thomas added 11 points, three rebounds, and one assist. Bryson Huckeby (Freeland, Mich. / Freeland HS) and Triston Nichols (Shelby Twp., Mich. / De La Salle HS) led with six rebounds each. Nichols finished the week with 18 rebounds, six points, six steals, and four blocks.
UP NEXT: The Cardinals begin a two-game conference road trip at Roosevelt on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. (ET).
