November 18, 2004
Men's Basketball
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CARDS RALLY FROM 17-POINT SECOND HALF DEFICIT FOR A 63-60 WIN OVER SOUTHERN ILLINOIS-EDWARDSVILLE

UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – Saginaw Valley State men's basketball team overcame a 17-point second half deficit on Thursday to post a 63-60 non-conference win over Southern Illinois-Edwardsville. The Cardinals trailed 35-29 at the half and the Cougars came out of the locker room with a 14-3 run in the first five minutes to take a 49-32 lead with 15:09 on the clock.
    SVSU chipped into the lead over the next four minutes and cut the deficit in half to eight points at 51-43 at the 11:06 mark. The turning point came in the second half came at the 7:09 mark as Cougars' center Dan Heimos picked up his fifth foul on a technical foul sending senior Anthony Parker (Muskegon, Mich./Mona Shores) to the free throw line. Parker split at the line and later in the 10-0 run, freshman Brandon Ball (Grand Rapids, Mich./Union) hit a jumper that cut the lead down to 55-53 with 5:20 left.
    Senior Kenneth Nether (Southfield, Mich./Canton) hit a pair of clutch free throws with 1:10 left that tied the game at 60-60. It was the first tie since 25-25 of the first half. After an SIUE turnover, Nether made a circus left-handed layup from the right block and put SVSU ahead 62-60 with 40 seconds to go. The Cougars had two shots at tying the game, but a three-pointer by Joel Jaye was off the mark and a 14-foot jumper by J.B. Jones was too strong. Nether grabbed the second missed shot and split at the line with four seconds left. Michael Sams misfired from halfcourt as time expired for SIUE.
    The Cards bench came up big as Ball led SVSU with 14 points in 30 minutes. He shot 6-of-9 from the floor and knocked down two triples. Nether finished with 11 points, four boards and three assists in 24 minutes. Parker also was in double figures with 11 points, including 5-of-6 at the foul line. The Cards bench outscored SIUE, 36-11, as sophomore Sydney McDaniel (Indianapolis, Ind./Pike) added nine points on 3-of-5 shooting from the arc.
    SVSU (2-0) travels to Berrien Springs, Michigan on Monday, November 22 for a 7:00 pm tipoff against Andrews University.

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Contact: Ryan Thompson (989) 964-4053