Ferris State Moves Into First-Place Tie Atop GLIAC North With Dominating Home Win

Postgame Interview/Highlights 

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University men's basketball squad moved into a first-place tie atop the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) North Division standings as the Bulldogs recorded a big 98-81 win over divisional leader Wisconsin-Parkside on Saturday (Jan. 19) at FSU's Jim Wink Arena.

In the first-ever conference matchup between the two squads, the Bulldogs built a 46-35 halftime lead and raced to the win by scoring 52 points in the second half while improving to 14-7 overall and 6-4 in the GLIAC.

With the triumph, FSU is now tied with the Rangers and Lake Superior State at the top of the divisional standings.

Ferris State had five players reach double-digits in Saturday's victory as FSU shot 57% from the floor and hit 13-of-26 (50%) three's in the win. It marked the second-straight game in which the Bulldogs finished just shy of reaching the century mark on the heels of a 99-77 win over Purdue Northwest on Thursday night in Big Rapids.

FSU was led by junior center Cole Walker's game-high 16 points in the victory. Senior forward Markese Mayfield had a quick start and finished with 15 points along with six rebounds and four steals. FSU also got 14 points apiece from sophomore guard Armani Tinsley off the bench along with junior guard D'angelo Hughes, who returned to action after missing Thursday's win due to injury.

Along with those four players, sophomore forward Jaylin McFadden chipped in with 13 points overall.

Ferris State forced 14 turnovers and dished out 31 assists in the victory, including six from Hughes along with five by senior guard DeShaun Thrower. The Bulldogs also had 10 steals with Tinsley notching four in addition to the four from Mayfield. Senior center Taylor Adway chipped in with two of FSU's four blocked shots while also adding seven points, five rebounds and three assists.

The Rangers were paced by Chavares Flanigan's team-high 15 points with Joey St. Pierre adding 12 points and Adam Bonk scoring 10 points. Parkside shot 46.4% overall and made eight-of-23 (34.8%) three's in addition to 21-of-26 (80.8%) free throws.

Ferris State will host fellow divisional leader and conference rival Lake Superior State in another first-place showdown on Saturday, Jan. 26, inside Wink Arena. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. (ET).