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Printer-Friendly ModeCardinals go down to wire twice, come up short again
December 12, 2005 —
This time, the SVSU men's basketball team got their shots. It just didn't make them.
The Cardinals took 51 shots but made just 17 in a 52-41 loss to Michigan Tech on Saturday.
SVSU shot just 33.3 percent from the field, much below its 44.4 percent average, including 1-for-10 from the three-point line. The Huskies shot 42.5 percent (17-for-40), 3-for-6 from behind the arc, for the game.
The game, along with a last-second loss to Northern Michigan Thursday night, was a complete opposite from last weekend's games. In a 93-71 loss to Ferris State Dec. 3, SVSU took just 15 shots in the second half, something coach Jamie Matthews expressed his frustration with.
The Cardinals were able to cut down on their turnovers, committing 15, but trailed the entire game and were held to 20 points in the second half. SVSU held Tech to 23 points in the half, but trailed 29-21 at half and could not overcome the deficit.
SVSU cut the lead to two points several times throughout the second half, including 37-35 with 4:25 left off a jumper by freshman Kevin Thornton.
Tech came right back down the court and answered immediately, as junior guard Radayl Richardson hit a three pointer to push the lead to five.
The Huskies would not look back after that, as they outscored SVSU 12-6 the rest of the way.
Thornton played his best game of the season for the Cardinals. The 6'8" center scored eight points on 4-for-8 shooting, grabbed nine rebounds, and blocked four shots in shutting down any inside presence Tech tried to establish.
SVSU's first big body off the bench, Thornton was coming off a 14-point, five block performance against Northern. He logged 28 minutes against Tech after averaging just over 15 for the season.
Sophomore Chris Johnston led the Cardinals with 15 points on 6-for-11 shooting in 31 minutes. Junior guard Andrea Betts played all 40 minutes for the Cardinals, scoring five points, grabbing seven rebounds and dishing out three assists.
Tech was paced by sophomore guard Josh Makela, who came off the bench and consistently got inside the paint against the Cardinals to score 16 points on 6-for-10 shooting.
Richardson scored 14 points off 3-for-8 shooting and 7-for-9 free throws. Freshman guard Robby Springborn scored seven of his nine points in the second half and grabbed four boards.
The Huskies took 11 more free throws than SVSU, going 15-for-22 from the line.
The Cardinals went just 6-for-11 from the charity stripe.
The loss dropped the Cardinals to 2-7 (0-5 GLIAC), while Tech improved to 3-4 (2-1).
SVSU hosts the final two games of its six-game homestand on Sunday and Tuesday, Dec. 18 and 20. Kentucky Wesleyan will visit first for a 3 p.m. tipoff, while Hillsdale comes in two days later for an 8 p.m. game.