#18 Ferris State Stays Perfect By Beating Cedarville To Move To 5-0 This Season

Game Highlights

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University men's basketball squad remained perfect on the year as the Bulldogs won their fifth-straight game to open the season with a hard-fought 72-55 triumph over upstart Cedarville (Ohio) on Tuesday (Nov. 24) night inside FSU's Jim Wink Arena.

In the first doubleheader of the year for the Bulldog men's and women's squads, Ferris State overcame 23 turnovers to improve to 5-0 on the year. The Bulldogs are presently ranked 18th nationally in the National Association of Basketball Coahces (NABC) Division II Top 25 poll this week.

After Cedarville jumped out to an early four-point lead only four minutes into the game, the Bulldogs battled back and built a 12-point lead at halftime thanks to a late first-half surge. FSU led 35-23 at the break after limiting the Yellow Jackets to only 33.3% shooting in the initial 20 minutes of action.

Ferris State pushed its lead in the second half to as many as 19 points with 13:41 to go, but had difficulty putting Cedarville away for good as the Yellow Jackets battled down the stretch. However, they never trimmed the margin any closer than 11 points as FSU maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the way.

Despite turning the ball over, the night had many bright spots for the Bulldogs as FSU owned a 50-35 rebounding edge and also came up with 13 blocked shots in the game. Ferris State shot 49.1% for the night, including a 53.8% figure in the second half of action.

Senior center Jared Stolicker came on late and finished with a game-high 19 points, 13 rebounds, five blocked shots and two steals in another high-level performance. Meanwhile, fellow senior guard Jibreel Jackson returned from an injury to score 16 points and added an outside touch by sinking five-of-six field goals and all four of his three-point attempts. He also had four assists.

Along with Stolicker and Jackson, FSU's other two seniors also reached double-figure scoring with forward James Chappell totaling 15 points and Josh Fleming scoring 13 points. Chappell hit six-of-11 field goals while Fleming chipped in three assists in the victory.

Together, the senior quartet combined for 63 of FSU's 72 total points as sophomore guards Noah King and Peter Firlik were the only others to score with five and four points, respectively. However, FSU went 11 deep and all contributed in some fashion, including sophomore guard Drew Cushingberry, who dished out five assists against Cedarville's full-court pressure throughout the game.

Ferris State finished shooting five-of-17 (29.4%) from three-point range and made 13-of22 (59.1%) free throws while totaling 19 assists and seven steals.

Meanwhile, the Yellow Jackets were paecd by Easton Bazzoli, who tallied 18 points and seven rebounds in the setback. Teammate J.C. Faubion joined him in double-figures with 10 points and 13 rebounds.

Overall, Cedarville shot 33.8% from the floor and hit on five-of-21 (23.8%) three's along with six-of-17 (35.3%) free throws for the night. The Yellow Jackets netted nine assists, 14 steals and four blocks while totaling 15 turnovers.

Although FSU had 23 turnovers, the Bulldogs managed to outscore Cedarville 16-9 in points off miscues and held a 19-11 margin in fast break production. Ferris State also outscored Cedarville 44-32 in the paint.

The Yellow Jackets dropped to 0-5 on the year with the loss. The win was Ferris State's fifth against a Midwest Region opponent this season to date.

Ferris State will play yet another regional non-conference game on Saturday (Nov. 28) as FSU hits the road to face Wisconsin-Parkside in Kenosha, Wis. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. (ET) and represents FSU's final non-league game prior to the start of Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) play next week.