HOUGHTON, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University men's basketball team fell to No. 17 Michigan Tech on the road, 62-52, on Saturday afternoon. The Cardinals (11-11, 5-9 GLIAC) battled back from a double-digit deficit to keep the game close until the closing minutes of the second half.
Kevonne Taylor (Detroit, Mich. / Chandler Park HS) led SVSU in scoring with 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the floor. He also led the team in rebounds with seven and blocks with two.
Neither team could score in the first few minutes of play, with the Huskies (20-4, 11-3 GLIAC) finally making a jumper at the 16:51 mark of the first half. Taylor responded with a jumper of his own on the ensuing possession, and the score sat at 8-2, Michigan Tech, as the game went into the first media timeout.
Michigan Tech used a 9-0 run to build a 17-4 lead with just under eight and a half minutes remaining in the first half.
The Cardinals responded with a 7-0 run that trimmed the lead to 17-13 with 5:36 left on the clock.
The half ended with MTU leading 27-21 as the teams entered the locker room at the break.
Dontez Scott II (Romulus, Mich. / Summit Academy North) hit a jumper, and Taylor followed with a layup for the first two buckets of the second half, and the Cardinals cut the Husky lead to just two points, 27-25.
The gap remained narrow until Marquese Josephs (Mississauga, Ontario) made a layup with 9:58 left to play that tied the game at 41 points.
Michigan Tech responded with a three-point jumper to pull back ahead, and the Cardinals couldn't close the margin again.
Joseph finished with 12 points and a team-high three assists. Triston Nichols (Shelby Twp., Mich. / De La Salle HS) scored seven points and tied with Taylor for the team lead in rebounds with seven. He also led the Cardinals with two steals. Scott II tallied nine points and six rebounds in the losing effort.
UP NEXT: The Cardinals have one more trip to the U.P. on Thursday, February 12, to play Lake Superior State in Sault Ste. Marie. Tip-off against the Lakers is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. (ET).