SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University men's basketball team dropped a 90-81 decision at Lake Superior State on Thursday night. The Cardinals (11-12, 5-10 GLIAC) kept things close through the first half, but the Lakers (13-11, 7-8 GLIAC) pulled away in the second half and held out for the victory.

Xavier Thomas (Detroit, Mich. / Brother Rice HS) led SVSU in scoring with 17 points that included 3-for-6 shooting from beyond the arc. Thomas added three rebounds in his 24 and a half minutes of play off the bench for Saginaw Valley State.

Neither team was able to pull away in the opening minutes, as the gap remained within one possession through the first two media timeouts.

Lake Superior State got the first bit of separation at the 9:31 mark after a layup sparked a 7-0 run that gave the Lakers a 26-17 lead.

Marquese Josephs (Mississauga, Ontario) erased that deficit with a three-point jumper that started a 7-0 run for the Cardinals, and the lead was back down to two points, 26-24, with 8:28 left before the break.

Josephs finished with 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting. He added five rebounds, three assists, and a steal to his totals.

Bryson Huckeby (Freeland, Mich. / Freeland HS) scored a layup off a turnover to tie the game at 29 with just over five minutes left in the first half. Huckeby scored 13 points off the bench for SVSU, his fourth double-digit output this season.

The advantage would move back and forth for the remainder of the half, with the Lakers holding a slim 41-37 lead as the teams entered the locker room.

The gap widened to its first double-digit lead in the opening two minutes of the second frame when the Lakers used a 5-0 run to go up 49-39.

The advantage would peak at 16 points (61-45) with 14:35 left to play in regulation. Dontez Scott II (Romulus, Mich. / Summit Academy North) made a layup that began a 12-0 run for the Cardinals, and the margin shrank to four points, 61-57, with just over 12 minutes left on the clock.

Lake Superior State moved back up by 12 points with a 10-2 run, before the Cardinals eventually chipped it down to seven points, 79-72 with 3:58 left.

Another run, this time 8-1, by LSSU moved the needle back to 14 points (87-73) with 2:03 left, and SVSU ran out of time to get the score closer.

Five Cardinals scored in double digits, with Thomas, Josephs, and Huckeby included. Kevonne Taylor (Detroit, Mich. / Chandler Park HS) scored 10 while adding seven rebounds and two blocks. It is his fifth consecutive game scoring 10 or more points. Triston Nichols (Shelby, Twp., Mich. / De La Salle HS) also tallied 10 poitns I the contest. Nichols added two assists and two rebounds to his effort as well. Scott II finished with eight points and a team-leading four assists.

UP NEXT: The Cardinals will return home to host Ferris State this Saturday in O'Neill Arena. The game is scheduled for a 3:00 p.m. (ET) tip.