Ferris State Advances To GLIAC Tourney Championship Game For Second-Straight Year!

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University men's basketball squad kept its postseason momentum going as the Bulldogs knocked off host Ashland 67-52 on Saturday (March 5) to advance to the 2016 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Championship Game inside AU's Kates Gymnasium in Ashland, Ohio.

The sixth-seeded Bulldogs, who are the defending GLIAC Tournament Champions, will now face eighth-seeded Walsh in the league title game on Sunday (March 6) starting at 4 p.m. (ET) in Ashland.

Ferris State fell behind early in Saturday's second contest against the second-seeded Eagles this season, but climbed back into the tilt against the nation's 10th-ranked team. The first half was back and forth with AU eventually taking a seven-point lead with 2:08 to play.

However, the Bulldogs fought back and trimmed the margin to only three points on a three-pointer from sophomore guard Drew Cushingberry to make it 31-28 in AU's favor at the break.

Ferris State then used a big second-half surge to take control. FSU outscored the Eagles 39-21 over the final 20 minutes en route to the 15-point victory. The Bulldogs shot 46% from the floor in the second half and connected on four-of-seven (57%) three's en route to the win.

CUshingberry, who hit the game-winner in Tuesday's 62-61 quarterfinal-round road win at Findlay, paced the Bulldogs with 14 points in the contest. He was joined in double-figures by both senior forward James Chappell and junior guard Quentin Ruff with 11 points each.

Along with the three in double-figures, Ferris State also received eight points from senior center Jared Stolicker, who added a game-high 15 rebounds and blocked three shots. Senior guard Jibreel Jackson chipped in with seven points and three assists while senior forward Josh Fleming tallied six points and three helpers.

The Bulldogs finished the game shooting 44% overall and went seven-of-20 (35%) from three-point range along with 16-of-24 (67%) at the line.

Meanwhile, the Bulldogs also limited Ashland to only 36% shooting, including only a six-of-25 (24%) performance in the second half. The Eagles went six-of-20 (30%) from downtown and eight-of-15 (53%) at the line.

Along with the advantage in shooting figures, Ferris State also outrebounded the Eagles 42-29 for the day and pulled down eight offensive boards, leading to a 9-5 edge in second chance production.

While the Bulldogs finished with 18 turnovers, they had only five in the first half and owned a 14-12 margin in points off miscues despite turning the ball over 13 times in the opening period.

Finally, Ferris State came up with nine blocked shots, eight steals and 11 assists compared to AU's 11 steals, nine assists and five blocks.

Adrian Cook led Ashland with a game-high 19 points in the setback while Wendell Davis added nine points and nine boards.

With the win, Ferris State improved to 21-9 overall this season and also kept its NCAA Tournament hopes alive. The Bulldogs can clinch an automatic berth by winning a second-straight league tourney crown on Sunday, but could potentially still receive an at-large bid regardless of the outcome. The official NCAA selection pairings will be announced Sunday night at 10:30 p.m. (ET) at www.ncaa.com.

Sunday's league tournament championship game will be carried live by Sunny 97.3 FM and the Bulldog Sports Network online at FerrisStateBulldogs.com. Pregame coverage gets underway at 3:30 p.m. (ET) with Rob Bentley calling the play-by-play action.