Webb's 30-point night paces Cards in 85-80 OT win
The Saginaw Valley State University men's basketball team defeated the Timberwolves of Northwood University, 85-80 in a thrilling overtime contest on the road today (2/16). The victory moves the Cardinals overall record to 12-11 and 8-8 in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletics Conference (GLIAC) play while the Timberwolves fall to 9-16 overall on the season and 6-10 in conference action.
MIDLAND -- Saginaw Valley jumped out to an early five-point advantage as sophomore guard Michael Fugate (White Lake, Mich./Lakeland HS) connected on a jump shot to give the Cardinals an 8-3 lead. Northwood would bring the score within one point with 11:26 remaining in the first frame, however SVSU would respond as Meijer "Player of the Game" Chris Webb (Saginaw, Mich./Arthur Hill HS) connected on back-to-back three-point shots, putting the Cardinals up 16-9 with under ten minutes remaining.
SVSU held the lead throughout the first half of action as they entered halftime with a five-point, 26-21 advantage over the Timberwolves. The Cardinals shot perfectly from the free-throw line in the first half as they connected on four-of-four shots.
Sophomore forward Jay Thames (Port Huron, Mich./Port Huron Northern HS) would knock down a jumper to increase the SVSU lead to seven points in the opening 30-seconds of the second half. Back-to-back three-pointers via junior Greg Foster (Indianapolis, Ind./T.C. Howe HS) and senior Keithan Jackson (Grand Rapids, Mich./Godwin Heights HS) raised the Cardinals advantage to nine points, as the scoreboard read 36-27 with 16:34 remaining in the game.
Northwood brought the score within one point on two occasions, however Saginaw Valley would never lose the lead. With the game clock reading 2:20 left in the contest, Foster and senior Adam Roberts (Adrian, Mich./Madison HS) would both connect on a pair of free throws to put the Cardinals up 12.
Within the final two and-a-half minutes of regulation time, Saginaw Valley shot 76% from the free-throw line, sinking 16-of-21 shots. The Timberwolves would respond by knocking down three-pointers, chipping away at the Cardinal lead and would eventually knot the score, 69-69 at the end of regulation, sending the game into overtime.
Saginaw Valley took advantage of their first posession as Webb would connect on a shot behind the three-point arch to give the Cardinals an instant 72-69 lead which they would never give up. SVSU made five-of-six free-throws in the final 25 seconds of overtime to go onto victory, 85-80.
Leading the way for Saginaw Valley was Webb who posted a game-high 30 points and pulled down three rebounds. Foster ended the night with 18 points, seven rebounds and five assists while Jackson pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds. Fugate finished the game with 17 points and recorded two assists.
The Cardinals will return to action this Saturday (2/19) when they travel to take on the Hillsdale Chargers in a GLIAC match-up. Tip-off is scheduled for 1:00 PM.
