UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – Roosevelt's sluggish start doomed the Lakers on Saturday afternoon in Michigan as they fell 79-61 to Saginaw Valley State in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference matchup. 

The two teams traded buckets to start the game before the Cardinals took control on their home floor. Saginaw Valley State went on a 16-2 run after the opening minute to push the lead into double digits, and it never fell below 10 points the rest of the game. The Lakers (5-12, 2-7 GLIAC) missed 12 of their 13 shots in that span and also missed both free throws they attempted during that stretch.

Saginaw Valley State led by 21 at the break after scoring 11 points off Roosevelt's mistakes and holding the Lakers to 33.3 percent shooting. Roosevelt's shooting improved by 10 percentage points in the second half to help the Lakers win the half 38-35. Forte Prater made half of his 10 shots in the second half to score 13 points, finishing with 17 in the game.

Enari Thomas added 15 points to help the Lakers and Fred Robinson IV chipped in nine. Griffin Yaklich tied for the team lead with seven rebounds in addition to scoring eight points, sharing the title with Khalil Haywood's seven boards. On the defensive end, Kennedy Brown rejected five shots in 17 minutes of action while Robinson and Thomas each had three steals.

UP NEXT: The Lakers' road trip continues Monday night in Detroit with a 6:30 p.m. at Wayne State.