UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University men's basketball team extended its unbeaten streak to five straight with an 80-71 win over Ashland on the road Sunday afternoon. The Cardinals (5-0) dominated the Eagles (5-2) on the defensive end of the floor with 10 blocks, seven of which came from Meijer Player of the Game Kevonne Taylor (Detroit, Mich. / Chandler Park HS).
"I thought our guys were very resilient. That is a good basketball team, playing on their home court, and they made a couple of runs in both halves that we could have folded, but we didn't. Our guys stayed the course and kept executing the game plan, and we were able to come out on top," said head coach Chris Fowler.
The Eagles hopped out to an eight-point lead early with a layup by Jason Moore at the 11:50 mark that put the home team up 23-15.
Bryson Huckeby (Freeland, Mich.) made a layup and then a three-point jumper to spark a 9-0 run and recapture the lead, 24-23, just under eight and a half minutes remaining before the half.
Huckeby struck again with another three, and Xavier Thomas (Detroit, Mich.) hit a jumper in the paint to ignite a 10-2 run and give the Cardinals their largest lead of the game, 37-28, with 3:11 left before the break.
Ashland then went on a 9-0 run in the closing minutes to tie the game at 37 before Marquese Josephs (Mississauga, Ontario) hit two free throws at the end of the opening frame to give SVSU a slim two-point lead as the teams entered the locker room at the break.
Huckeby finished the first half with 17 points and four rebounds. His scoring output was just one point short of his season-best from 2024-25. Josephs also scored double-digit points in the first 20 minutes, finishing with 10. Saginaw Valley State shot 53.8% from the floor (14-26) in the first half, which included 6-of-14 from beyond the arc.
Ashland made the first bucket of the half to tie the score at 39 before the teams traded baskets in the opening three minutes of action.
A jumper from outside the paint sparked a 7-0 run for the Eagles, and they took a 48-43 lead with 16 and a half minutes left to play.
Josephs made a second-chance layup to cut the deficit to two before hitting a three-point jumper and another layup to tie things up at 50 all with 14:25 remaining in regulation.
Another exchange of scores and leads saw the game tighten down the stretch until Dontez Scott II (Romulus, Mich. / Summit Academy North) hit a jumper in the paint, followed by a three from Huckeby to see the Cardinals' lead increase to five points, 64-59, at the 8:11 mark of the second.
The margin remained within two scores until Scott II drilled a second-chance jumper from deep to increase the lead to six. Thomas increased the advantage to eight points, 70-62, with two free throws, and the Cardinals never trailed again on the way to the win.
Huckeby led the way offensively for SVSU with a season-high 20 points and eight rebounds. Josephs contributed 19 points and four rebounds, Thomas added 17 points and six boards, and Scott II notched 12 points, four assists, and four rebounds. Taylor anchored the defense with a career-best seven blocks, while also recording eight points and seven rebounds.
UP NEXT: The Cardinals begin GLIAC play on the road against Davenport this Thursday, December 4, at 7:30 p.m. (ET).
