Cole Walker's Career Day Lifts Ferris State Past Wayne State In Dominating Win

Postgame Interivew & Highlights 

Big Rapids, Mich. - A career day from junior center Cole Walker (Elk Rapids) lifted the Ferris State University men's basketball squad to a dominating 104-78 triumph over visiting Wayne State on Saturday (Feb. 9) in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) action at FSU's Jim Wink Arena.

Walker converted 12-of-14 field goals and went nine-of-10 from three-point range en route to a game-high and personal career-best 35 points in the FSU win. His nine three's matched the school single-game record originally set by Leon Larthridge back in 1991 while FSU's 16 three's as a squad also tied the all-time mark notched against Indianapolis in 2004 at Wink Arena.

The junior standout scored 18 of his points in the opening half as FSU took a 43-32 halftime edge and sank four treys in the opening 20 minutes of play. He later caught fire in the second frame, sinking three consecutive long range tries on three trips up the floor to account for his final points.

While Walker had a big game, he wasn't the only Bulldog player who performed well. On the inside, senior center Taylor Adway notched 15 points while shooting six-of-10 overall and FSU also got 13 points from senior forward Markese Mayfield. Meanwhile, freshman forward Mason Pline drilled a pair of three's and finished with 10 points as the four big men in the Bulldog attack accounted for 73 total points.

In the second half, Ferris State tallied 61 points as a team to put the game out of reach.

For the afternoon, the Bulldogs shot 50.7% from the floor, including a sizzling 52% from three-point land on 16-of-31 shooting. FSU also made 14-of-16 (87.5%) free throws.

Walker's performance overshadowed a big game from Wayne State's Karim Murray, who totaled 32 points and nine rebounds in 40 minutes of action. The Warriors also got 16 points from Javon Henderson along with 12 points by Darian Owens-White and 10 from Latin Davis.

FSU limited the Warriors to 39% shooting with WSU finishing only one-of-nine (11.1%) from deep distance and 27-of-31 (87.1%) at the stripe.

In the contest, Ferris State owned a 42-37 rebounding margin and pulled down 14 offensive caroms, leading to a 19-6 edge in second chance production. The Bulldogs also generated seven blocked shots and four steals on the defensive end while totaling 25 points off of 13 WSU turnovers.

While the Bulldogs' interior players had outstanding games, the entire unit shared the ball well as evidenced by 30 assists in the game, including six from senior guard DeShaun Thrower in addition to five from D'angelo Hughes and Armani Tinsley. Walker added four helpers and also pulled down a team-high tying six rebounds along with Pline, Adway and sophomore Jaylin McFadden.

With the victory, Ferris State improved to 17-9 overall and 9-6 in the GLIAC while keeping pace in a tightly-contested GLIAC North Division race.

The Bulldogs will play their final two regular-season home games back at Wink Arena this coming week as their four-game homestand continues in Big Rapids. FSU will host Northern Michigan on Thursday (Feb. 14) night at 7:30 p.m. (ET) before entertaining Michigan Tech for Senior Day on Saturday (Feb. 16) at 3 p.m. (ET).