While Coop may have looked different on Thursday night, the SVSU men’s basketball team looked the same, picking up its 13th-straight victory.
With a 65-43 win against the Northern Michigan Wildcats, the Cardinals extended their winning streak to 13 consecutive games. The victory brings the team’s record to 14-2 overall with an undefeated 11-0 record in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC).
SVSU dominated from the start. The Cardinals jumped out to an early 13-4 lead thanks to three-point baskets from sophomore Garrett Hall and junior Mitchell Baenziger. Each time Northern Michigan tried fighting its way back into the game the Cards answered.
At the break, SVSU led the Wildcats, 38-21. Its first half leaders included junior Damon Bozeman who scored a team-high nine first half points while totaling six boards.
The second half started just as the first half had, with the Cardinals controlling the court. Sophomore CJ Turnage connected on a jumper and following a Northern Michigan turnover, Hall hit from beyond the arc, extending the team’s lead to 22 points.
SVSU would continue to add to its already commanding lead, eventually running away with the victory.
Turnage scored a team-high 16 points for the Cardinals. Bozeman totaled 10 points while pulling down eight rebounds. Freshman Devin Dixon came off the bench in a big way for the Cards, picking up a team-leading nine boards.
At one point the Cards led by as much as 29 points and dominated in almost every statistical category. The team would finish the game out rebounding Northern Michigan, 38-28, and outscored the Wildcats in the paint, 38-16.
Up next for the Cardinals is another GLIAC contest as SVSU looks to extend its winning streak against the Michigan Tech Huskies. The game will start at 3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 24.
