Defending Champs Open League Play With Win

Tiffin, Ohio - A strong start to the second half fueled the Ferris State University men's basketball squad to a 81-64 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) win over Tiffin on Thursday (Dec. 1) night at the Gillmor Center in Tiffin, Ohio.

FSU opened defense of its GLIAC North Division Championship against a much-improved Dragons' team and entered the half tied at 37 points apiece.  FSU used a strong start in the first five minutes of the second half to take control and outscored TU 44-27 in the final 20 minutes.

Ferris State had five players reach double-figure scoring and was led by senior guard Dontae Molden with 19 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals.  Senior forward Jerrell Sanders added 18 points, five assists and four boards while junior forward Daniel Sutherlin tallied a double-double with 16 points and a contest-high 14 boards.

FSU also received 14 points from junior guard Kenny Brown and 10 points off the bench by freshman guard Drew Lehman.

Their performances offset a 27-point effort from Tiffin's Karl Finley.  Joe Graessle added 14 points for the Dragons.

The Bulldogs' win was their third consecutive victory after starting the year with three road losses, including two against NCAA Division I competition.  TU dropped to 4-3 overall.

Ferris State shot 38.1% from the floor and owned a decisive 44-33 rebounding edge, which included 22 offensive boards to only nine for the hosts.  FSU also forced 20 turnovers.

The Bulldogs netted 16 assists, 10 steals and two blocked shots in comparison to Tiffin's 16 assists, 13 blocks and three steals.

TU converted 43.8% of its field goal tries, but also turned the ball over 20 times to only 11 for the Bulldogs.

FSU finished seven-of-20 (35.0%) from beyond the three-point arc and was 26-of-38 (68.4%) from the free throw stripe in the win compared to TU's six-of-22 (27.3%) effort from three-point land and 16-of-24 (66.7%) effort from the charity stripe.

The Bulldogs improved to 3-3 overall this campaign following the win and are now 1-0 in GLIAC action.

FSU improved to 7-1 all-time against the Dragons with the win and the Bulldog have now won seven consecutive series' matchups.

Ferris State will wrap up its two-game road trip to Ohio by visiting Ohio Dominican for the first-time ever on Saturday, Dec. 3, with tipoff set for 3 p.m. (ET) in Columbus, Ohio.  The game will be broadcast live by Sunny 97.3 and the Bulldog Sports Network with an online webcast at www.FerrisStateBulldogs.com.