The SVSU men’s basketball team started its season by losing both of their games in the GLIAC/GLVC Challenge.
The Cards opened up the challenge, hosted by SVSU, on Friday, Nov. 9, by losing to Bellarmine, which came in ranked first in the nation. SVSU followed that up by dropping a contest the next day to the University of Indianapolis.
On Friday, the Knights controlled play throughout the majority of the first half of the game, as they jumped out to a quick 13-0 lead and went into the second half of the game up 20 against the Cardinals, leading them 46-26.
It wasn’t until the second half when SVSU showed that they would not be so quickly put away. The Cards outscored the Knights in the second half 36-27, and brought the deficit back to single digits.
Despite the strong effort and comeback from the Cardinals, Bellarmine stayed strong and fought off the Cardinals’ resilient offense, winning the game 73-62.
Freshman guard Myles Belyeu led SVSU in scoring, as he garnered up 19 points in his first career game, adding three rebounds, two assists and two steals, earning him the Meijer
“Player of the Game.” Adam Eberhard led Bellarmine with 15 points on the night, as the Knights had a strong showing from their freshmen group.
On Saturday against Indianapolis, the first half went back-and-forth, but the Cardinals eventually put some significant distance between them and the Greyhounds, as the first half came to a close with SVSU leading 38-26.
The second half followed a similar path, as the first with the teams trading leads multiple times. However, as the clock winded down, the Greyhounds led by a slim 84-82 lead.
Indy landed a single free throw shot with only five seconds left, giving the Cardinals just enough time for a last-second three, but it was off the mark. The Greyhounds took home the three-point victory, 85-82.
“Defensively and offensively, we are not making the changes we need to make when we need to make them,” head coach Randy Baruth said. “We got to get better.”
Belyeu led the Cardinals again in points with 22, while CJ Wilson, Liam Evans and James Toohey all scored in double digits. Jimmy King led Indianapolis in scoring with 23 points on the night.
The Cardinals (0-2) play next on Tuesday, Nov. 13, against Alma College, with a 7 p.m. tip-off at home at O’Neill Arena.
