CLARION, PA – Saginaw Valley State University bounced back big Saturday night with a 91-74 win over Kutztown University, with some unlikely heros stepping up.
     Sophomore guard Terrence Wright (Saginaw/Buena Vista) continued his impressive play with a 23-point, six-rebound performance to lead the Cardinals (1-1).
     But junior transfer Sean Stewart (Tyler, TX /John Tyler) came off the bench for injured senior Brian Vaughn (Saginaw/Buena Vista) with a big second-half performance.
     Vaughn, who figured to be the Cards' top gun, injured his knee midway through the first half and sat out the rest of the game. Seniors Josh Ode (Freeland) and Greg Mallek (Merrill) played sparingly, due to foul trouble.
     Stewart made 8 of 14 floor shots, including 5 of 7 from the three-point line in the second half.
     "We a number of players come off the bench and perform well tonight," admitted second-year coach Dean Lockwood. "Richard Rashad, Sean Stewart and Rashard Carson, come to mind."
     Rashad (Inkster/Wayne Memorial) scored nine points and grabbed three rebounds, while Carson (Toledo, OH/Rogers) had eight points and five assists in his first action of the season.
     The Cardinals shot better than 50 percent from the floor for the second straight night (35 of 69), including 12 of 24 from the arc. They committed only 14 turnovers, while forcing 22.
     "We rebounded the ball much better and took better care of the ball tonight," said Lockwood, whose squad salvaged a stalemate on the backboards with 38 rebounds for each team..
     SVSU built a 45-33 halftime lead, but the Golden Bears (0-1) opened the second half with back-to-back three pointers for their only real threat.
     Mallek led SVSU with eight rebounds, while Tom Legagh of Kutztown had 17 points and eight rebounds to lead the Bears.
     "We're pleased to get a win and rebound from last night's game with a split on the trip," said Lockwood. "We thought we played better last night, but we overcame some rough patches tonight to win.
     "We have a huge test on Tuesday against a very good Siena Heights team and we're hoping to play better."
     The Cardinals make their first home appearance Tuesday in O'Neill Arena against the Saints at 7:30 p.m.

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