Slow Start Too Much For Ferris State To Overcome In Rivalry Road Setback

Slow Start Too Much For Ferris State To Overcome In Rivalry Road Setback

Big Rapids, Mich. - A quick early start fueled Grand Valley State to a 86-62 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) win over Ferris State in men's basketball action on Monday (Feb. 3) night at the GVSU Fieldhouse Arena in Allendale.

The host Lakers bolted out to an early 11-point lead only four minutes into the game and the Bulldogs were forced to play catchup the rest of the night as the Lakers claimed the first of two meetings between the longtime West Michigan rivals before a crowd of 1,831 fans.

GVSU forced 15 Bulldog turnovers in the opening half of play en route to a 47-26 halftime edge. FSU played the Lakers nearly even most of the second half, but the early deficit was too much to overcome.

The Lakers connected on 48.3% of their field goals in the game and hit nine-of-17 (52.9%) three's along with 19-of-29 (65.5%) free throws in winning the "Big Monday" matchup as part of rivalry night in the conference. They finished by forcing 20 Bulldog turnovers and held FSU to 42.3% shooting overall along with a six-of-20 (30%) showing from downtown. FSU was 12-of-20 (60%) at the free throw line.

Junior guard Ryan Sabin led the Laker attack as he finished with a game-high 21 points and made five treys while grabbing six rebounds and dishing out four assists. He was one of three GVSU players to reach double-digits as Rob Woodson chipped in 11 points and Ricardo Carbajal netted 10 off the bench. Woodson added six assists, five boards and three steals in a solid all-around game.

Ferris State was paced by junior guard Drew Lehman, who finished with 15 points including three long-range makes in the game to go with a squad-best five assists. Both junior guard Dietrich Lever and sophomore center Jared Stolicker added 13 points each in the setback.

Grand Valley State owned a 38-31 rebounding edge and outscored FSU 18-3 on the offensive glass with 13 extra opportunities compared to nine offensive boards for the Bulldogs.  GVSU also held a significant edge in points of turnovers by a 26-7 count as the Lakers managed to turn the ball over only nine times in the game.

In addition to his 13 points, Stolicker grabbed six rebounds and had four blocked shots for the Bulldogs. Dan Chilcote led FSU off the bench with seven rebounds while sophomore guard Jibreel Jackson contributed four steals and three assists to go with four points at the offensive end.

GVSU finished with 22 assists and 11 steals compared to FSU's 12 assists, six steals and six blocks in the game. The Lakers never trailed in the contest following the quick start.

The Bulldogs had won four of the previous six matchups between the two teams entering the contest and six of the last 11 overall prior to the loss. The two teams will meet again on Feb. 27 in Big Rapids at FSU's Jim Wink Arena.

Ferris State returns home for a pair of league tilts later this week. FSU hosts Michigan Tech on Thursday (Feb. 6) for an 8 p.m. (ET) GLIAC matchup in Big Rapids before entertaining Northern Michigan on Sautrday (Feb. 8) starting at 3 p.m. (ET).