Fugate's huge night lifts Cardinals to 88-76 win
The Saginaw Valley State University men's basketball team hosted local rival Northwood University in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) match-up on Wednesday night (2/9). The Cardinals came-away with an 88-76 victory over the Timberwolves, moving their record to 11-10 overall on the season and 7-8 in the GLIAC. Northwood falls to 8-15 overall and 5-9 in league play.
UNIVERSITY CENTER -- The Timberwolves jumped out to a quick lead after a triple by Booker Stoudmire 12 seconds into the contest. The Cardinals would answer back and build an eight-point lead at the 14:49 mark after a layup from senior Keithan Jackson (Grand Rapids, Mich./Godwin Heights HS). The score would bounce back-and-forth a bit until SVSU held a 12-point advantage at 30-18 after a pair of layups by junior Greg Foster (Indianapolis, Ind./TC Howe HS) and a jumper from sophomore Jay Thames (Port Huron, Mich./Northern HS) with 5:18 remaining in the first half. Northwood would cut into the lead a bit, but a three-pointer from senior Dan Genther (Laingsburg, Mich.) with nine seconds left in the half gave the Cardinals a 39-27 advantage heading into halftime.
Foster led the way in the first half for SVSU, scoring 12 points and grabbing five rebounds. Sophomore Michael Fugate scored 10 points and had four rebounds. Genther added eight points in the first 20 minutes for the Cardinals.
In the second half, the Cardinals led by 22 points with 13:39 remaining after a free throw by Jackson, making the score 58-36. The Timberwolves came back and drew within eight points at the 8:55 mark after a triple by Andrew VanDierenDonck, making the Cardinal lead 65-57. SVSU would extend the lead to 80-69 after a Genther layup with 3:52 left in the game. The Cardinals would hold a double-digit advantage the rest of the way, closing-out for the 88-76 victory.
Fugate earned Meijer "Player of the Game" honors en-route to scoring a game-high 25 points while adding seven rebounds. Foster added 21 points and a game-high eight rebounds and game-high six assists. Jackson added 15 points while Genther had 13 points.
The Cardinals shot 54.5% from the floor compared to Northwood's 39.3%. SVSU also held a 40-30 advantage in rebounding for the contest.
SVSU will be in action again when it travels to take-on Urbana University on Saturday afternoon (2/12) in a 4:00 pm non-league tilt. The Blue Knights claimed last year's only contest between the two schools, an 82-77 decision on November 30, 2009.
