Ferris State Improves To 8-1 With Road Triumph Over Ohio Dominican

Ferris State Improves To 8-1 With Road Triumph Over Ohio Dominican

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University men's basketball squad bounced back from its only loss of the season in a big way as the Bulldogs recorded a 83-71 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) road victory over the Ohio Dominican Panthers on Friday (Dec. 11) night in Delaware, Ohio.

The nationally 19th-ranked Bulldogs improved to 8-1 overall and 2-1 in the GLIAC with the triumph, which came on the heels of a close setback to unbeaten Ashland in FSU's most recent action last Saturday in Big Rapids.

However, in Friday's contest, Ferris State built a four-point halftime lead and outscored Ohio Dominican 48-40 in the second half to pull away at Ohio Wesleyan University's Branch Rickey Arena. The game was moved due to graduation ceremonies on the ODU campus.

All five Ferris State starters scored in double-figures in the victory with senior forward Josh Fleming recording a game-high 18 points and 10 rebounds in a double-double effort to go with five assists and two blocked shots. Senior wing James Chappell added 15 points with six boards and three steals while senior center Jared Stolicker also notched a double-double with 14 points and 10 boards.

Senior guard Jibreel Jackson added 12 points for FSU with sophomore guard Drew Cushingberry totaling 11 points, eight rebounds and five assists.

The Bulldogs heated up in the second half to shoot 51.6% overall, including 59% in the final 20 minutes of action. FSU hit only three-of-16 (18.8%) three's, but knocked down 16-of-26 (61.5%) free throws in the victory.

Defensively, FSU held Ohio Dominican to only 28.6% shooting overall although ODU hit on 10-of-22 (45.5%) three's and 21-of-28 (75%) free throws.

FSU also outrebounded the Panthers 49-39 for the game and outscored ODU 52-18 in the paint behind the production of Fleming, Chappell and Stolicker. The Bulldogs also notched 12 of the 14 fast break points in the contest and never trailed in the victory.

Ohio Dominican, which had suffered a GLIAC-record 69-point conference loss to FSU a year ago in Big Rapids, was led by Adam Sytlak with 13 points. Senior Trent Weaver notched 12 points and 12 boards with Chad Nelson hitting three treys en route to 12 points in the game.

The Panthers did own a 17-12 margin in second chance scoring with 16 offensive board against the 11 posted by the Bulldogs. FSU had 13 turnovers compared to 10 for ODU, which fell to 3-6 overall and 0-3 in the GLIAC.

The Bulldogs will next face Tiffin on Sunday, Dec. 13, in league action at TU's Gillmor Center in Tiffin, Ohio. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. (ET).