UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University men's basketball team took over the game in the first half and held off Purdue Northwest in the second half for a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win on Saturday at the James E. O'Neill Jr. Arena.

The Cardinals shot 57 percent in the first half, hitting eight 3-pointers in a 86-68 win, splitting the season series with the Pride. The victory is the fifth straight for the surging Cardinals, who move to 17-7 overall and 11-5 in the GLIAC.

How it Happened:

• SVSU raced out to a 12-2 lead to open the game, capped by a dunk from Tre Garrett.
• The Pride scored 11 unanswered points to take a brief 13-12 lead.
• The Cardinals took control of the game midway through the first half with a 20-4 run that included two 3-pointers from Delano Smith.
• SVSU led 51-32 at the break as James Toohey hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to send the Cardinals to the locker room up 19.
• The Pride started to chip away midway through the second half and pulled within nine points with 6:38 to play.
• Garrett hit a 3-pointer to put the Cardinals back up 14 and SVSU cruised to the win.

Inside the Box Score:

• Delano Smith finished with a double-double, scoring 14 points and grabbing 19 rebounds, three shy of the SVSU school record.
• Tre Garrett scored a season-high 15 points on 6-of-6 shooting, adding six rebounds.
• Darnell Hoskins Jr. scored all 11 of his points in the first half, including three 3-pointers.
• Steven Post came off the bench to add 11 points and five rebounds.
• The Cardinals shot 33-of-66 from the field, 9-of-26 from deep, and 11-of-13 at the free-throw line. SVSU won the battle on the boards 42-33.
• Logan Phillips and Jyrus Freels each scored 17 points off the bench to lead the Pride.

Up Next:

The Cardinals travel to the Upper Peninsula for a pair of games next week, starting against Michigan Tech at 7:30 pm Thursday in Houghton, Mich.  

Postgame Interview with Head Coach Randy Baruth below: