OXFORD, Ohio - In exhibition games, the Saginaw Valley State University men’s basketball team is still in search of its first victory after dropping a hard-fought match to Miami-Ohio earlier today (Nov. 8) 66-54.

Senior guard Dante Williams (Romulus, Mich./East Tenn. State University) led the Cardinals on offense with 18 points, while senior guard Lawrence Ross (Battle Creek, Mich./Miami University of Ohio) turned in 14 points, and a team high eight rebounds on the day. Ross got the scoring underway as he grabbed a defensive rebound, carried the ball over center-court and hit a three-pointer to give the Cardinals an early 3-0 lead. As the half wound down, junior Avery Stephenson (Romulus, Mich./Univ. of Nebraska-Kearney) would put up a shot, grab his own rebound, trying to bring SVSU within one before the buzzer sounded. Ross would tip in Stephenson’s second attempt with just two ticks left on the clock to end the half down 27-26.

In the second half, the two teams traded the lead for the first three minutes when Miami was able to put up five unanswered points for a 35-30 lead with 17:50 remaining - a lead they would not relinquish the rest of the game. Overall, the Cardinals shot 35 percent from the field on the afternoon, and pulled in 34 rebounds.

The Cardinals will next be in action Nov. 22 as the regular season begins against Central State. Tip off is scheduled for 1 p.m. in Wilberforce, Ohio.