Ferris State Men's Basketball Garners League-Best Five All-GLIAC Mentions
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Big Rapids, Mich. - Four members of the Ferris State University men's basketball squad combined for five All-Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) honors for the 2014-15 campaign after leading the Bulldogs to 20 victories in the regular-season.
The all-conference awards were announced by the league office on Monday prior to the upcoming start of the postseason GLIAC Tournament and FSU had four different players honored for their performance to date this year.
Senior guard Drew Lehman (Toledo, Ohio/Central Catholic) was chosen to the All-GLIAC First Team while the combination of junior center Jared Stolicker (Middleville/Thornapple-Kellogg) and junior forward Josh Fleming (Carol Stream, Ill./Glenbard North) were both second team recipients.
Finally, both Stolicker and junior forward James Chappell (Detroit/Southwestern) were named to the GLIAC All-Defensive Team, giving FSU a total of five places on the all-conference balloting.
The five total selections earned by the Bulldogs were the most of any school in the conference.
In addition, FSU's three first and second team picks matched both Saginaw Valley State and Northwood for the league's best while the two defensive team honorees also tied LSSU for the most in the GLIAC.
A total of 10 individuals were named to both the All-GLIAC first and second teams in voting conducted by the league's 16 member head coaches while 10 others claimed all-defensive team kudos.
Lehman has had his most productive season to date of his collegiate career as the senior guard has averaged a squad-best 18.6 points on the season. Lehman, who ranked third in conference regular season action at 19.1 points per game, also finished high among the league leaders in three-point field goals and assists.
Meanwhile, Stolicker led the GLIAC in blocked shots and ranked among the national leaders with 54 to date on the year. He also placed among the league's top five performers by averaging a squad-high 7.5 rebounds per game and pured in 10 points per contest while shooting 54% from the floor.
Fleming also had a breakout year for the Bulldogs while averaging a career-high 11.1 points per game. The junior forward ranked as FSU's seocnd-leading scorer and also the second-leading rebounder at 5.5 boards per game while producing 56 assists, 31 steals and 30 blocked shots.
Finally, Chappell provided a big impact after returning from an injury which sidelined him nearly all of last year. In his first full season with the Bulldogs, the junior forward totaled 10.7 points and 5.1 rebounds per outing with 40 steals and 29 blocks on the defensive end. He also shot better than 51% from the field and handed out 62 assists during the regular-season.
Ferris State reaped the rewards of a stellar regular-season which saw the Bulldogs double last year's victory total and match a school single-season record with 16 conference victories while tying for second place overall in the league standings.
During the regular season, the Bulldogs also achieved several other memorable accomplishments, including setting an all-time GLIAC record for largest victory margin in a 69-point home win over Ohio Dominican. The Bulldogs also posted their first-ever road win at Findlay, beat Wayne State in Detroit for only the second time in the last 20 years and topped NCAA Division I Bowling Green in convincing fashion. FSU was also ranked in the top 20 nationally and posted the school's second-best start ever in GLIAC play (11-0) while totaling a 15-game regular season win streak at one point, which was the second-best mark ever at FSU.
Ferris State has secured only its second postseason quarterfinal-round home game in nine seasons as the Bulldogs will host a GLIAC Tournament contest on Wednesday, March 4, at Jim Wink Arena. FSU will be the number three seed for the quarterfinal-round game and square off against sixth-seeded Ashland on Wednesday night. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. (ET).
Ticket prices for the league quarterfinal are $8 for adults or $2 for all students older than age five, including college students with identification. All seats are general admission and no regular-season passes of any type will be accepted per league tournament regulations. For additional information, please contact the FSU Athletics Ticket Office at (231) 591-2888.
Four quarterfinal-round games will be played on March 4 with the winners advancing to the GLIAC Tournament Semifinals and Finals on Saturday and Sunday, March 7-8, at the site of the highest remaining seed.
The winner of the GLIAC Tournament receives an automatic bid into the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional Tournament slated to be held March 14-17 at a campus site yet to be determined. FSU was ranked eighth in last week's NCAA-II Midwest Regional Rankings. The official NCAA Tourney field, including at-large teams, will be announced this Sunday night at 10:30 p.m. (ET) on www.ncaa.com.