UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University men's basketball team upset No. 15 Grand Valley State with a huge 92-65 win on Thursday night inside O'Neill Arena. The Cardinals (12-13, 6-11 GLIAC) upset the ranked Lakers (20-5, 13-4 GLIAC) twice to sweep the regular season series for the first time since 2021-22.
"I thought we executed the game plan really well, both offensively and defensively. It felt good to make some shots the way that we did," said SVSU head men's basketball coach, Chris Fowler. "I think with the way this team has been working, they have been due for a day like this one. It was good to see us get the reward for the work that we have been putting in."
Meijer Player of the Game Dontez Scott II (Romulus, Mich. / Summit Academy North) led the way in scoring with a career-best 27 points in the contest. Scott II finished the game 10-of-15 from the floor with six three-point jumpers to achieve his career high.
Scott II accounted for the first nine points of the game for SVSU as Saginaw Valley jumped out to a quick 9-3 lead in the opening three minutes of play.
Xavier Thomas (Detroit, Mich. / Brother Rice HS) made a layup, and Kevonne Taylor (Detroit, Mich. / Chandler Park HS) hit a jumper to extend the lead to 13-5 going into the game's first media timeout.
Scott II extended the run to 6-0 with a driving layup to give the Cardinals their first double-digit advantage, 15-5, at the 13:43 mark of the first half.
Aidan Duran (Spring, Texas / Victory Rock Prep) got involved with eight-straight points for Saginaw Valley State to push the lead to 16 points (28-12) heading into the second media break.
Another three-point jumper by Scott II in the closing minute widened the gap to 19 points before Triston Nichols (Shelby Twp., Mich. / De La Salle HS) made a layup to give the Cardinals their largest lead yet at 46-25.
GVSU would make two free throws with just one second left before the break to trim the deficit to 19 points as the teams entered the locker room.
Scott II accumulated 19 of his 27 points in the first half and shot an impressive 70% (7-10) from the floor in the first 20 minutes of play. Duran collected all 12 of his points in the first half.
The Cardinals continued to build upon their lead in the second half with Trenton Taratuta (Hillman, Mich. / Hillman HS) hitting a shot from beyond the arc near the midway point of the half that gave SVSU a 77-46 lead heading into the 12-minute media stoppage.
A 3:43 scoring draught by both sides extended through the eight-minute break before Jack Stefanski (Frankfort, Mich. / Frankfort HS) completed back-to-back three-pointers to give the Cardinals their largest lead of the contest, 83-46, and SVSU cruised to the win.
Scott II was one of six Cardinal players with five or more rebounds, as he hauled in six. Duran led the rebounding effort with 10 to earn his second double-double of the year. Thomas also added five rebounds, while Stefanski, Taylor, and Nichols had five. Thomas also led the team with five assists in the game. He was the third SVSU player with double-digit points as well, finishing with 11.
UP NEXT: The Cardinals host Davenport for Senior Day on Saturday, February 21 at 3:00 p.m. (ET). SVSU sits ninth in the GLIAC standings with just three games remaining and will need to win out for its best chance at a GLIAC Tournament berth.
