SAULT STE. MARIE - Saginaw Valley State remained unbeaten in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference after rallying back from a 14-point deficit to beat Lake Superior State 81-76 Thursday at Bud Cooper Gymnasium.

During the second half, the Cardinals (12-2 overall, 9-0 GLIAC) out-scored the Lakers 14-7 in points off turnovers and held a 7-0 advantage on second-chance points. They clogged the passing lanes throughout the game, forcing a GLIAC season-high tying 16 LSSU turnovers.

LSSU's Jake Blake and Alex Williams combined for 21 points as the Lakers (12-3 overall, 7-2 GLIAC) shot 60.7 percent from the field to lead 43-32 at halftime. They extended the lead to 50-36 with 16:26 remaining in the second half. SVSU knotted the score at 66-66 with 6:23 remaining and led throughout the final four minutes. The Cardinals shot a woeful 53.8 percent at the free-throw line for the game, and were 6-of-10 at the line during the final 1:39.

Saginaw Valley State made up for its foul shooting by making 5-of-8 three-point attempts during the second half.

Williams finished with 20 points, while Blake had 14 points and five rebounds. Devin Daly scored 11 points, and Jordan Dasuqi added 10. Dasuqi also totaled five assists. LSSU shot 53.1 percent from the field for the game, including 4-of-15 from three-point range, and made 20-of-26 free throws.

Garrett Hall scored 20 points, and Damon Bozeman totaled 14 points and six rebounds to lead SVSU. C.J. Turnage and Caleb Davis scored 13 points each. The Cardinals shot a GLIAC season-high 61.2 percent from the field, including 7-of-13 from three-point range, and made 14-of-26 free throws. They shot 66.7 percent (16-of-24) during the second half.

LSSU plays host to Hillsdale at 3 p.m. Saturday. LSSU is offering a three-for-one ticket special. A $12 ticket will provide admission to both Saturday basketball games and the Laker hockey game against Bemidji State. A between-game tailgate sponsored by the LSSU Alumni Association begins at 5 p.m. at the Lukenda House.

Boxscore