The men’s basketball game between SVSU and Davenport took place in Grand Rapids on Monday, January 22, and was a thrilling contest that unfolded with moments of intensity and outstanding performances.
Despite the close final score of 82-81 in favor of Davenport, several noteworthy events defined the game.
Junior Freddie McIntosh emerged as a standout player for SVSU, not only achieving a significant milestone of 1,000 career points but also setting a new career-high of 35 points.
His exceptional performance included a rally he led in the second half of the game when the Cardinals were trailing by 11 points. McIntosh also demonstrated his versatility with four assists, five rebounds, and a steal during this intense game.
Another key contributor to the game was Tre Garrett who added 17 points for SVSU. His proficiency in shooting is evident as Garrett made seven of his 13 attempted shots and he secured seven rebounds. In addition, Curtis Jackson played a pivotal role on offense with seven assists.
The dynamic of the game was established early on, with the Davenport Panthers taking a lead of 7-2 in the opening three minutes of play.
McIntosh, displaying his scoring prowess, managed to narrow the gap with a three-point shot.
However, as the first half progressed Davenport gained a significant lead with the score being 22-9. The Panthers maintained this double-digit lead for the majority of the first half. Going into halftime Davenport had 41 and SVSU had 30.
The second half continued to favor Davenport, who had a 16-point lead in the opening 4:30 minutes.
McIntosh was able to make 12 attempts on the basket though and five made it in giving SVSU 19 points for a comeback. Garrett also contributed 13 of 17 more points scored in the second half.
McIntosh added two more free throws and Maurice Anderson hit two three-point jumps as well leading to a smaller gap between the Cardinals and Panthers.
Garrett came back to score five points in a row and McIntosh scored three to bring the score to 63-56 in the Panther’s favor.
The game was not over yet because a series of free throws and a notable dunk by Kevonne Taylor narrowed the score gap to 77-73 with only minutes to spare.
In the last minutes of play, McIntosh scored another basket and Taylor’s layup brought SVSU’s score to 81 and showed the Cardinal’s fighting spirit.
The Panthers fought back though and held on to their lead. The Cardinals ran out of time to complete their comeback but fought a valiant match. The final score was 82-81 with a Panther win. The Cardinals will play again on Thursday, February 1 against Purdue Northwest at 7:00 p.m. in Indiana
