SAULT STE. MARIE - Lake Superior State's rally from a 15-point deficit fell short as the Saginaw Valley State men's basketball team claimed an 80-77 win Saturday at Bud Cooper Gymnasium. The Cardinals handed the Lakers their first Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference loss of the season.

SVSU (5-2 overall, 2-1 GLIAC), which lost both games against LSSU last season by an average of 20.5 points, came back from an eight-point deficit to lead 32-31 at halftime. Cardinals forward Avery Stephenson, who led all scorers with 34 points, picked up where he left off in the first half and scored 20 second-half points. He was 10-of-15 from the field and 11-of-13 at the free-throw line for the game. He also had seven rebounds.

SVSU opened the second half with a 13-3 run and maintained a double-digit lead throughout most of the period. The Cardinals built their biggest lead, 71-56, with 2:36 remaining.

LSSU senior Scott Perkins stopped SVSU's momentum by sandwiching two three-pointers around two Cardinal free throws. Laker junior Micah Hudson added a three-pointer at the 1:47 mark to trim Saginaw Valley State's lead to 75-65.

Senior guard Garrett Konuszewski, who missed last week's games due to an injury, made a jumper at 1:14 and a three-pointer at 1:02. After an SVSU turnover against LSSU's press, Konuszewski scored and failed to convert a three-point play at the 44-second mark, but his field goal cut the Cardinals' lead to 78-74.

Junior forward Matt Romatz answered two Stephenson free throws with a three-pointer with 21 seconds left. LSSU forced another SVSU turnover during the final 18 seconds, but came up empty on two game-tying attempts.

Perkins led LSSU with 23 points and four steals, while Hudson had 21 points and four assists. Kyle Hunt led the Lakers in rebounds with nine and assists with six.

Lake Superior State (3-4 overall, 2-1 GLIAC) shot 39.4 percent from the field, including 15-of-35 from three-point range. The Lakers made 10-of-15 free throws.

SVSU shot 52.1 percent from the field, including 5-of-19 from behind the arc. The Cardinals made 25-of-32 free throws and dominated the boards, 45-26.

LSSU plays host to Ashland at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.

LSSU vs. SVSU