#5 Ferris State Tops School Mark With 12-0 Start By Beating SVSU In Dominating Fashion

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University men's basketball squad moved to 12-0 for the first time in school history as the fifth-ranked Bulldogs stayed perfect by beating Saginaw Valley State 81-45 in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) play on Saturday (Dec. 9) evening at O'Neill Arena in University Center, Mich.

The Bulldogs' 12-0 start represents the first time in nearly 100 years of FSU hoops that the Bulldogs have won their first 12 games, topping the 1972-73 squad which started 11-0 for the best season-opening mark in school history.

FSU got off to a big start and led 41-19 at halftime against the Cardinals before pushing the lead to as many as 38 points in the final minutes.

Junior center Zach Hankins led FSU with a game-high 19 points in addition to eight rebounds and five blocked shots. The Bulldogs also got 13 points from junior forward Markese Mayfield along with 10 points off the bench from redshirt freshman wing Jaylin McFadden.

Ferris State shot 51.7% overall and limited SVSU to only 28.1% shooting in the win as the Bulldogs improved to 4-0 in the GLIAC this year. The victory followed a close road win at Northwood on Thursday evening.

The Bulldogs forced 17 turnovers in the win and outscored the Cardinals 24-3 in points off those turnovers. Additionally, the Bulldogs held a big advantage inside the paint with 50 points compared to only 18 for SVSU.

In the victory, the Bulldogs outrebounded Saginaw Valley State 43-33 and totaled 17 second-chance points to six for the Cardinals.

Saginaw Valley State was led by Sebastiano Lamonato with 13 points. Jake Daniels added 11 points for SVSU, which fell to 2-8 overall and 0-4 in the GLIAC.

Overall, the Bulldogs totaled 16 assists, seven steals and seven blocked shots in comparison to the Cardinals' 13 assists, eight steals and zero blocks.

The victory was FSU's third-straight in the series since the Cardinals topped FSU in the 2016 NCAA Division II Midwest Regional Championship Game.

Ferris State will visit Lake Superior State next Saturday (Dec. 16) for a showdown between nationally-ranked squads at 3 p.m. (ET) in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.