UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. -- The Saginaw Valley State University men's basketball team lost 67-62 Thursday night to the visiting Davenport Panthers at James E. O'Neill Jr. Arena. Trailing by two with under 20 seconds remaining, the Cardinals had an opportunity to tie the game but the Panthers stole the ball and were able to seal the victory with free throws. 

The loss drops SVSU to 17-10 overall and 11-8 in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference heading into the final game of the regular season on Saturday. The Cardinals are currently in a four-way tie for third place in the GLIAC standings. 

How it happened:

• SVSU got going quickly in the first half with an 8-2 run thanks to a pair of 3-pointers by Darnell Hoskins Jr. 
• The Panthers came right back and traded baskets with the Cardinals before SVSU opened up a six-point lead. 
• Davenport continued to fight and tied the game at 25-25 with 6:13 remaining in the half.
• With an 8-2 run of their own to close the half, Davenport took a 33-27 lead into the halftime break. Hoskins led SVSU with eight points at the break, while Tyler Witz had six and James Toohey five points. 
• The Panthers opened up a 12-point lead in the second half with 10:24 left, before a Tre Garrett free-throw and a Freddie McIntosh layup got SVSU to within nine.
• SVSU continued to close the gap and got within three points with 6:23 left thanks to a McIntosh 3-point basket.
• With 4:28 remaining, SVSU took a 59-58 lead after Delano Smith stole the ball and Toohey slammed it home. 
• After back-to-back layups, the Panthers took a 62-59 lead with 3:11 remaining. 
• The Cardinals got to within one point with 45 seconds left after a pair of Garrett free throws.
• Garrett stole the ball off the inbounds play but the Panthers stole it right back and forced the Cardinals to foul with 32 seconds left.
• Trailing 64-61 with 25 seconds left, Smith converted the front end of a pair of free throws to cut the lead to just two.
• Davenport missed a one-and-one free throw, but an SVSU turnover with 12 seconds left gave the ball back to the Panthers, who were able to hang on for the victory. 

Inside the Box Score:

• McIntosh led the Cardinals with 13 points on 6-of-15 shooting.
• Darnell Hoskins Jr. posted 11 points.
• Tyler Witz led all players with 14 rebounds.
• SVSU was 23-of-58 from the field, 7-of-19 from deep, and 9-of-14 from the free-throw line. 
• The Panthers were led by Chris Rollins with 19 points. 

Up next:

The Cardinals close the regular season on Senior Day against Grand Valley State University at 3 pm Saturday at the O'Neill Arena.