Saginaw Valley State posted a strong defensive effort against Grand Valley State at home on Saturday night (Feb. 4), as the Lakers dropped a 64-42 final to the Cardinals in University Center, Mich. In the second meeting in just two weeks between the North Division rivals, SVSU used a big run early in the second half to pull away from a 25-19 halftime advantage.

Two Saturdays ago in Allendale, the Lakers topped Saginaw Valley State 80-71 in a great back-and-forth game. On Saturday night, both teams struggled shooting the ball, perhaps the mark of the final game in a 10-day stretch where both teams played five contests. Of those five games, Grand Valley State played four times on the road; the Lakers will return to Allendale for four consecutive home games in the GVSU Fieldhouse Arena, beginning next Thursday night.

With the loss, the Lakers drop to 13-10 on the year and 9-7 in conference play. Saginaw Valley State, formerly the #1 team in all of Division II in early December, is 14-9 overall and 7-9 in league action. Grand Valley State is now in a three-way tie with Ashland and Wayne State for fifth place in the GLIAC standings.

Junior guard Myles Miller paced the Lakers with 12 points in 17 minutes off the bench, as he added three assists and a pair of steals. Chris Dorsey added 10 points on 5-of-10 shooting in his second consecutive start in the GVSU lineup. Senior Trevin Alexander and sophomore Zach West each pulled down seven rebounds.

For the game, GVSU shot 31.7 percent from the field and 3-of-14 from three-point range, while Saginaw Valley State shot 39.0 percent overall and 7-of-26 from downtown. At the free throw line, the Cardinals were 11-of-15 and Grand Valley State was 1-for-4.

SVSU was ahead 9-4 in the first few minutes before Alexander hit a jumper with 16:28 to play, followed by back-to-back buckets from sophomore center Justin Greason. On his second make - a short jumper in the paint - the Lakers led 10-9, but Saginaw Valley State rattled off 12 consecutive points over the next four and a half minutes to open a 21-10 advantage.

From there, the Grand Valley State defense tightened up. The Cardinals did not score for nearly seven minutes, with the Lakers trimming the 21-10 deficit to 21-19 after buckets from junior Drake Baar, senior Luke Ryskamp, West, and a three-pointer from Alexander. In turn, however, SVSU held Grand Valley State scoreless for the final 4:45 of the first half and took a 25-19 lead into the intermission. 

Both teams shot 32 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes; the Lakers were 1-of-6 from beyond the arc, while Saginaw Valley State went 3-of-12 from long range. 

In the second half, SVSU scored 24 of the first 27 points in the first 11 minutes of the stanza to open a 49-22 cushion. The Cardinals' lead pushed out to as many as 31 points, with Grand Valley State getting it down to 22 points in the final 90 seconds after five points from Miller.

Next Thursday (Feb. 9) in Allendale, the Lakers will host Northwood at 8:00 p.m. before welcoming in Lake Superior State on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 11).