KENOSHA, Wis. – The Saginaw Valley State University men's basketball team mounted a gritty second-half rally but narrowly fell, 87-81, to Parkside in Kenosha on Saturday afternoon. Down by 13 points in the second half, the Cardinals (9-5, 3-3 GLIAC) shot an impressive 20-of-34 (.588) but could not quite catch the Rangers (8-5, 3-3 GLIAC).

Leading the way for SVSU, Xavier Thomas (Detroit, Mich. / Brother Rice HS) scored 17 points. Dontez Scott II (Romulus, Mich. / Summit Academy North) contributed 16 points, four rebounds, three assists, and a team-leading two steals. Triston Nichols (Shelby Twp., Mich. / De La Salle HS), active in 18 minutes, pulled down a team-best five rebounds and added 10 points. Aidan Duran (Spring, Texas / Victory Rock Prep) was also in double figures, finishing with 11 points.

The score remained close through the first seven minutes of play, with the Rangers holding onto a narrow lead until Thomas scored five straight points to knot things up at 15 with 12:58 remaining in the half.

Parkside responded quickly, going on an 11-0 run over nearly three minutes to create the game's first double-digit deficit with just under nine minutes left.

The deficit widened further, reaching 19 points (42-23) at the three-minute mark. As the teams entered the locker room at the break, the Cardinals trailed 44-31.

Duran led SVSU in scoring with nine points and tied for a team-high three rebounds in the first frame.

SVSU clawed back in the opening four minutes of the second half with a three-point jumper by Thomas that sparked a 7-0 run for the Cardinals and trimmed the gap to 50-45 with 16:30 left to play in regulation.

However, the Rangers answered by hitting three jumpers from distance, re-establishing their 13-point lead at 67-54 with just over 11 and a half minutes remaining.

Scott II responded with a three of his own that started a 7-0 run and trimmed the deficit to six points with 10:11 left in regulation.

Once again, the Rangers responded with a 5-0 run to move back up by 10 points (73-63), but the Cardinals remained resilient, trimming the lead to four on a 6-0 run at the 7:03 mark of the half.

A free throw, a layup, and a three-point basket helped Parkside rebuild an eight-point lead, 79-71, with 5:50 remaining.

Marquese Josephs (Mississauga, Ontario) hit a layup, and Scott II followed up with a turnaround to trim the margin to four points (81-77). Still, foul trouble caught up with the Cardinals, and the Rangers capitalized at the free-throw line to secure the six-point victory.

UP NEXT: SVSU returns home to continue GLIAC play by hosting Michigan Tech on Thursday, January 15 at 7:30 p.m. (ET).