NMU Men fall to SVSU

Courtesy of NMU Athletics

MARQUETTE, Mich.- The Northern Michigan University men’s basketball team went down in defeat for the third game in a row on Thursday (Jan. 17) evening as the Saginaw Valley State Cardinals defeated the Wildcats 56-51 from the Berry Events Center. It was the second time in three games NMU lost by less than six points.

Northern falls to 4-11 overall and 3-8 in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

The ‘Cats closed the game on a 12-2 run, with four layups and four free throws, after the Cardinals held a 17-point lead with 8:49 remaining. Two free throws by senior forward TJ Cameron cut the game to three but a pair of free throws on the other end by Rob Clark put  the game out of reach for NMU.

SVSU (7-6, 5-5 GLIAC) held a 33-24 halftime lead after shooting 57.1 percent from the field and made 3-of-5 from the beyond the three-point arc. NMU shot 38.5 percent in the opening frame and was led by junior forward Matthew Craggs with 10 points.

Craggs scored over 20 points for the third time this season with a game-high 21 points. He also led the team with five rebounds. Sophomore guard Quinten Calloway was also in double figures with 11 points. Cameron added eight and sophomore forward Kendall Jackson had five boards.

NMU finished the game shooting 38.5 percent from the floor and 22.2 percent (4-for-18) from deep. The ‘Cats generated 16 SVSU turnovers that led to 20 points.

Chris Webb finished with 15 points for the Cardinals while Clark added 10. Jay Thames and Brett Beland combined for 16 points.

SVSU shot 52.6 percent on the evening and made 12-of-13 (92.3 percent) from the charity stripe. The Cardinals also outrebounded the ‘Cats 30-21 and outscored NMU 26-18 in the paint.

Northern wraps up its two-game home stand on Saturday (Jan. 19) against Wayne State. Tipoff is set for 11 a.m. due to the hockey game later in the evening. The Warriors defeated Michigan Tech 70-59 on Thursday in Houghton.