Ferris State Captures Share Of GLIAC North Championship With High-Scoring Road Victory

Midland, Mich. - The Ferris State University men's basketball squad clinched at least a share of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) North Division Championship on Saturday (Feb. 11) night as the Bulldogs beat the Northwood Timberwolves 107-71 inside NU's Riepma Arena.

The Bulldogs bounced back after a narrow home loss to Lake Superior State on Thursday with a dominating road win to improve to 21-4 overall and 15-3 in the GLIAC. FSU now owns a three-game lead over second-place Michigan Tech in the division with only three games remaining in the regular season.

Ferris State jumped out to an early 12-2 lead before Northwood rallied and eventually grabbed a five-point advantage midway thru the opening half. However, FSU closed the first half by outscoring NU by 21 points over the final 10 minutes to take a 55-39 lead at intermission.

FSU then started the second half quickly and increased the advantage to 30-plus points while cruising to the triumph. The Bulldogs completed the season sweep over Northwood with the road win.

Sophomore center Zach Hankins paced four FSU players in double-figure scoring with a game-high 22 points. He added nine rebounds in 26 minutes of work.

The Bulldogs also received 17 points apiece from junior guard Peter Firlik and point guard Drew Cushingberry, who also finished with eight rebounds, three assists and a steal. Senior guard Quentin Ruff chipped in 14 points in the win.

Overall, all 11 Bulldog players in uniform played at least eight minutes in the game and all scored in the triumph.

Ferris State shot 54.1% from the floor and made 23-of-27 (85.2%) free throws while sinking four three's on 17 attempts (23.5%).

Defensively, FSU limited Northwood to only 36.6% shooting with the Timberwolves going 10-of-26 (38.5%) from downtown and nine-of-14 (64.3%) at the line.

Ferris State posted a 45-41 rebounding edge and outscored NU 18-7 on the offensive glass in the game. FSU also held a decisive 68-26 edge in points scored inside the paint as the Bulldogs attacked the basket all night long. 

Additionally, FSU owned a 17-0 margin in fast break scoring and received 30 points off the bench to 11 for Northwood. Finally, the Bulldogs forced 12 turnovers and had only four of their own, leading to a 21-3 advantage in points off turnovers.

Northwood was led by Nick Spitzley, who totaled 16 points. Zach Allread added 13 points and 10 rebounds in a double-double effort and Kyle Lamotte also had 13 points with Matt Crowl scoring 10 points.

The game was FSU's final road contest of the season and also marked the Bulldogs' 13th win on the road this season, which ranks tops in the nation.

Ferris State will play its final three games of the regular-season at home inside Wink Arena. FSU hosts Northern Michigan in its next action on Thursday (Feb. 16) starting at 8 p.m. (ET).