Big Comeback Over Hillsdale Lifts Ferris State To GLIAC Tournament Semifinals

Big Comeback Over Hillsdale Lifts Ferris State To GLIAC Tournament Semifinals

Coach Bronkema Postgame 
Postgame Highlights

Big Rapids, Mich. - A furious second-half comeback propelled the Ferris State University men's basketball team to a come from behind 87-84 victory over the Hillsdale Chargers on Tuesday (Feb. 28) night in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Quarterfinals at Jim Wink Arena.

Junior guard Drew Cushingberry paced the scoring for top-seeded Ferris State with 26 points, shooting 9-of-14 for the game. Sophomore forward Markese Mayfield added 16 points off the bench for FSU while sophomore forward Zach Hankins pulled down 14 boards and rejected four shots.

The eighth-seeded Chargers had the jump in the first half, rushing ahead to a 47-34 haltime lead. Hillsdale shot a white hot 75 percent from the field in the opening frame while the Bulldogs shot 43.8 percent.

Ferris State roared back with two long second-half runs and had a 53-37 points advantage in the second half. The Bulldogs hit seven three-point shots in second half and went to the line for 14 free points.

While the Chargers led by as many as 15, the Bulldogs closed the gap and took a late lead. Ferris State's largest lead for the game was three points.

With the Bulldogs ahead 84-81, the Chargers hit a late three with just under five seconds to play to tie the game. Cushingberry rushed down the floor and drew a three-point foul with just over a second to go and hit all three shots. The Chargers attempted to throw the inbound pass over half court, but Ferris State senior guard Quentin Ruff intercepted it as time ran out.

The Chargers had six players in double-digits with Nate Neveau leading at 16 points. With both teams shooting over 49 percent from the game, neither side dominated the glass as Hillsdale came away with a slight 26-25 edge.

For the game, Hillsdale College finished shooting 65.5 percent with Ferris State shooting 49.2 percent. The Chargers dominated in the paint, owning a 56-38 margin.

The back-and-forth affair saw seven tie scores and nine lead changes, most coming in the final ten minutes of play.

With the win, Ferris State improved to 25-4 on the season and will host the GLIAC Tournament championship weekend at Wink Arena.

Ferris State will play in the first tournament semifinal on Saturday (March 4) against fourth-seeded Michigan Tech at 3 p.m. (ET). The second semifinal will pit second-seeded Findlay against sixth-seeded Ashland starting at 5 p.m. (ET).

The league tournament championship game takes place on Sunday (March 5) at 3 p.m. (ET).