Allendale, MI — ALLENDALE, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University men's basketball team opened the 2021-22 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference season with an impressive win over No. 13 Grand Valley State University on Thursday in Allendale, Mich. The Cardinals trailed by eight points at the break but rallied, taking the lead in the final minutes on the strength of the play of Delano Smith to push past GVSU for the 68-65 win. The victory pushes SVSU to 5-2 overall and 1-0 in the GLIAC. How it Happened: An early run from the Lakers gave the home team a 16-12 lead over the Cardinals in the first half. James Toohey picked up a steal with 3:34 to play in the first half, leading to a Tre Garrett layup that cut the GVSU lead to 27-23. Up three with one minute to play in the first half, the Lakers extended their advantage to eight points with a 3-pointer and a layup in the final seconds of the opening 20 minutes. The Lakers ballooned their lead to 17 points in the opening minutes of the second half, but the Cardinals began to chip away. Back-to-back 3-pointers from James Toohey and Delano Smith pulled the Cardinals within four points with just over six minutes to go. Toohey hit another big 3-pointer with under three minutes to go to bring SVSU within three points. Down one with under a minute to go, Smith made a layup to give the Cardinals the lead with 13 seconds to go. The Lakers turned the ball over on the next possession and Darnell Hoskins Jr. hit a pair of free throws to put SVSU up by three points with five seconds on the clock. A late 3-pointer by the Lakers missed and SVSU earned the victory. Inside the Box Score: Delano Smith led the Cardinals with 25 points on 10-of-18 shooting, adding five rebounds. James Toohey finished with 14 points, including four 3-pointers. Maurice Barnett added 10 points and four rebounds. Tyler Witz finished with eight points and a team-high 10 rebounds. SVSU shot 27-of-62 from the field, 10-of-26 from deep, and 4-of-4 from the line. The Cardinals were outrebounded 35-29 by the Lakers. Isaac Gassman led GVSU with 13 points and three 3-pointers. From Head Coach Randy Baruth Always good to start with a win, but this is a long season, we got to test and prepare Friday for Saturday! Delano made some tough shots, very proud of him. James Toohey, nobody deserves success for than him. This was a great team win!