UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University men's basketball team fought off a second-half surge from Davenport in a 95-90 win on SVSU senior day. The Cardinals (13-13, 8-8 GLIAC) improve to .500 with the win over the Panthers and have two games remaining in the regular season to fight for postseason positioning.

Tre Garrett led SVSU in scoring with 22 points. He was one rebound shy of completing a double-double and three free throws away (16) from tying the record for the most in a game of 19. Freddie McIntosh also had a day at the charity stripe with 11 free throws contributing to his 19 points on the afternoon. Chansey Willis Jr. was the steady hand for the Cardinals with 6-10 shooting for 15 points. Maurice Barnett tallied 12 off the bench along with five rebounds and an assist.

Senior Jarno Pomstra got things going for Saginaw Valley State when he busted a three-point jumper off an assist from Willis Jr. in the opening minute to give the Cardinals the lead that they would never relinquish. Davenport tied the score twice before Willis Jr. made a three and a jumper during a 6-0 run that grew an 11-5 lead early in the half. The Panthers cut it to three points, but Barnett racked up five points to help push the advantage to nine, 18-9, with just over 13 minutes left before half. The game remained within a few possessions until a technical foul on Davenport's bench gave Garrett four chances at the line, where he sunk each and pushed the lead to eight. Kevonne Taylor followed with a jump shot that created the game's first double-digit advantage with just under nine and a half to play. The lead was extended with a 10-2 run that spanned over three minutes. The deficit stayed for the rest of the half as SVSU took a 53-36 edge into the locker room.

The Cardinals pushed the gap to 26 in the opening five minutes of the second half before a long rally by Davenport that spanned 15:22 of the second and contained runs of 6-0, 9-2, and two of 5-0 to bring the score to 89-86 with just 24 ticks left in regulation. That was as close as the Panthers could get as the SVSU hit their free throws down the stretch to hold on to the win.

UP NEXT

The SVSU men's basketball squad wraps up the 2022-23 regular season with a two-game road trip this coming week. The first game will take place at Purdue Northwest on Thursday, February 23. The opening tip between the Pride and the Cardinals is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.