#5 Ferris State Wins Close Road Game To Match School-Best Start

Midland, Mich. - The nationally fifth-ranked Ferris State University men's basketball squad used a late run to hold off the Northwood Timberwolves and stay perfect on the year Thursday (Dec. 7) night as the Bulldogs pulled out a 76-65 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) road triumph at Riepema Arena in Midland.

With the win, the Bulldogs improved to 11-0 on the year, matching the 1972-73 Bulldog squad for the best season-opening start in school history. FSU also improved to 3-0 in the GLIAC with its first road victory of the season.

Senior forward Noah King led the Bulldogs with a game-high 18 points and drilled two key three-pointers down the stretch as FSU rallied back for the win. The Bulldogs also got 15 points from senior guard Drew Cushingberry along with 10 by junior center Zach Hankins.

The Bulldogs jumped out to an early nine-point lead only five minutes into the game before Northwood bounced back and grabbed a one-point lead at halftime. The Timberwolves led much of the way in the second half before Ferris State closed the game strong to earn the triumph.

Alec Marty paced Northwood with a team-high 15 points while both Kevin Calhoun II and Big Rapids native Demitri Martin chipped in nine points each.

The Bulldogs shot 41% overall for the game and forced 17 turnovers while outscoring NU 18-7 in points off turnovers. However, Northwood did manage to outrebound the Bulldogs 44-41 for the game and both teams totaled 16 second chance points.

Ferris State hit 17-of-22 (77.3%) free throws and held a decided advantage at the line as Northwood finished only four-of-six (66.7%) at the charity stripe. The Timberwolves shot 38.6% from the floor and made seven-of-20 (35%) three's with FSU going five-of-15 (33.3%) from long range, including a the pair of late treys from King.

The Timberwolves compiled 18 offensive rebounds, but FSU had nine steals and five blocked shots in the win.

With the setback, Northwood fell to 2-6 overall and 0-3 in the GLIAC to date.

Ferris State will visit Saginaw Valley State on Saturday (Dec. 9) for a 6 p.m. (ET) league tilt in University Center as FSU continues its five-game road stretch.