Saginaw Valley State 76, Parkside 68
The Parkside men's basketball team had a tough road test Thursday night at Saginaw Valley State, who stood in third place in the latest GLIAC point system standings. The Cardinals were able to hold off the Rangers from making a run and came away with a 76-68 win at James E. O'Neill Jr. Arena.
 
Redshirt-senior Tray Croft had his 11^th 20+ points game of the season for Parkside, who fell to 11-11 overall and 8-7 in the GLIAC. The Rangers were tied for fourth in the GLIAC point system heading into Thursday night's ball game.
 
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HOW IT HAPPENED
The Cardinals stayed in front for nearly the entire ball game, but the game remained close for the full 40 minutes. Parkside's lone lead came early in the first half at 7-6, and they were able to tie the game later in the first half at 28-28. SVSU followed that with a 10-1 run to pull ahead again. The Rangers scored the final six points of the first half and trailed 38-35 after Jamir Simpson scored and Ramar Evans got a steal and a buzzer-beater in the final :04-seconds.
 
In the second half, Parkside used a quick 6-0 run to tie the game at 56-56, but the Cardinals hit back-to-back triples and the Rangers never got it to a one possession game again.
 
STATWORTHY
Croft finished with a game-high 25 points and also grabbed eight rebounds. He's now hit multiple 3-pointers in 15 straight games after going 5-of-12 from deep on Thursday. Freshman Rasheed Bello had 12 points while Simpson had 11. Parkside went -10 in rebounding and +5 in the turnover battle, but SVSU shot 50% from the floor and 50% from deep (10-of-20).
 
WHAT'S NEXT
Parkside will finish out the weekend with a trip to Wayne State on Saturday, Feb. 12 at 2 p.m. The Rangers return home for three straight ball games next week, battling No. 5 Ferris State on Thursday and Lake Superior State on Saturday in Senior Day. Log on to ParksideRangers.com/Tickets to secure your spot in De Simone Arena today.