Cardinals upend #21 Moccasins, 75-70
The Saginaw Valley State University men's basketball team defeated # 21 Florida Southern today (Nov. 27) 75-70 in their second game of the Florida Southern Thanksgiving Classic.
LAKELAND, FL -- The Mocs scored the opening basket of the game, however the Cardinals quickly knotted the score and took the lead at the 17:43 mark on a Dan Genther (Laingsburg, Mich. / Laingsburg HS) jump shot. Saginaw Valley would hold a 13-point advantage over Southern Florida as Genther sank a three-point shot to give the Cardinals a 30-17 lead and entered the locker room with an 11-point lead, 38-27 at halftime. Genther would end the game with 17 points, six rebounds and three assists.
Florida Southern came out strong in the second half and took the lead, sinking two free-throws to take a 46-45 lead over the Cardinals with 12:52 remaining in the game. Saginaw Valley would knot the score at 57 as Genther connected on one-of-two free throws and took the lead as sophomore forward Jay Thames (Port Huron, Mich./Port Huron Northern HS) made a pair of free-throws. The Mocs were able to come within one point of the Cardinals with under one minute of play left, but were unsuccessful as Saginaw Valley went onto victory, 75-70.
Leading the way for the Cardinals was Meijer "Player of the Game" senior guard Chris Webb (Saginaw, Mich./Arthur Hill HS) who had a game-high 24 points and posted four rebounds, five assists and had three steals. Thames would end the game with 11 points and a team-high seven rebounds.
With the win, Saginaw Valley moves to 3-1 overall on the season while Florida Southern falls to 3-3 overall on the season. The Cardinals will return to action next week (Dec. 2) as they host Lake Superior State University in their first GLIAC match-up of the 2010-11 season. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00 pm.
