CANTON, Ohio – The Saginaw Valley State University men's basketball team officially opened the 2022-23 campaign on Friday evening with a 97-53 defeat at the hands of Malone University in Osborne Hall.

Freddie McIntosh led SVSU with 10 points while Maurice Barnett chipped in nine. Steven Post led the Cardinals on the glass with five rebounds, and Barnett and McIntosh both had four. The latter also had five assists to tie for game-high honors.

Bo Myers led four Malone starters in double figures with a game-high 20 points, followed by Elijah Hinton with 19, Justin Miller scored 18 and Simon Blair had 11.

After the teams traded baskets in the opening two minutes of the contest, Malone went on a 29-6 run over the next 11 minutes and 32 seconds to take a commanding 33-10 lead with 6:25 to go in the first half. Malone led 53-21 at halftime and wouldn't let SVSU back into the game.

The Pioneers outrebounded the Cardinals 42 to 30 and turned 16 SVSU turnovers into 23 points. Caleb Conard, Myers and Hinton pulled down six rebounds apiece. Malone outscored SVSU in the paint, 48-18, and 21-3 on second-chance points.

Malone shot 54.4 percent from the field (37-68) while holding SVSU to 32.0 percent (16-50).

The Cardinals defeated Hope College, 82-78, and Henry Ford Community College, 81-78, in a pair of exhibition games during the first week of November.

Saginaw Valley will look to bounce back in the GLIAC/GMAC Crossover on Sunday when it hosts Hillsdale College in the home opener at James E. O'Neill Jr. Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m.