HOUGHTON – Michigan Tech University pulled off its first season sweep of Saginaw Valley State University in a decade, beating the Cardinals 81-71 in the Student Development Complex.
     The Huskies hadn't swept the Cards since the 1989-90 season, but held onto second place in the GLIAC North Division with the win.
     Tech led from start to finish, taking advantage of poor shooting by the visitors to post a 42-24 halftime lead. The Cards shot only 32 percent from the floor in the period.
     SVSU fell behind by 22 points in the second half, before mounting a comeback and cut the lead in half with 9:27 left in the game. Senior Josh Ode (Freeland) hit a triple to cut the lead to seven points with 44 seconds left, but the Cardinals would get no closer.
     The Huskies dominated the backboards, finishing with a 54-35 edge and getting 21 offensive rebounds. They had a 29-13 rebounding advantage in the first half.
     "We spotted them the first half," said Cardinal coach Dean Lockwood. "They had 13 offensive rebounds in the first half and that really killed us. We can't do that on the road, especially up here."
     SVSU made eight of nine free throws, while the hosts sank 16 of 20. The Cards hit only three of 18 three pointers.
     Sophomore Terrence Wright (Saginaw/Buena Vista) led the Cardinals with 16 of his 21 points in the second half. Ode was the only other Cardinal to score double figures with 18 points and a team-high five rebounds.
     Jason Kreider led all scorers with 22 points and Chris Moore added 16 for the Huskies.
     SVSU dropped to 4-10 in the GLIAC and 10-11 overall, while MTU improved to 14-7 overall and 9-5 in the league.
     The Cardinals will face their final road game of the season Saturday at first-place Northern Michigan University, then return home for an important season-ending four-game home stand.

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