Ferris State Comes Up Short In GLIAC Quarterfinal Setback To Northern Michigan

Postgame Interview & Highlights 

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University men's basketball team suffered a 89-73 setback in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Quarterfinals to the Northern Michigan Wildcats on Tuesday (March 5) night inside Jim Wink Arena.

The four-time defending GLIAC Tournament Champion Bulldogs fell behind in the first half and could not rally as they dropped to 20-12 overall.

For Ferris State, senior guard DeShaun Thrower finished with a team-best 19 points and shot 4-of-7 from beyond the arc. Senior forward Markese Mayfield pulled down eight rebounds while senior forward Taylor Adway added 14 points.

The Bulldogs defended the perimeter well and only gave up one three-ball, but the Wildcats outscored the Bulldogs 50-23 in the paint and 18-4 off of turnovers.

Northern Michigan's Isaiah Johnson finished with a game-high 29 points while Naba Echols picked up 21 points to go with six assists. The Wildcats out-rebounded the Bulldogs 43-29 as Myles Howard finished with a game-best 10 to go with nine points.

The Wildcats also hit 24 of 27 free throw attempts. The Bulldogs had 19 shots from the charity stripe and hit 13 times. Ferris State shot 43.1 percent for the game from the field while Northern Michigan shot 45.7 percent and made seven more field goals than the Bulldogs.

NMU also handled the ball well as the Wildcats finished with only three turnovers to 11 for FSU, leading to an 18-4 margin in points off turnovers.

With the win, Northern Michigan improved to 17-11 overall this season and avenged two earlier defeats to the Bulldogs this season as they advanced to the league semifinals.

The Bulldogs were ranked seventh in last week's NCAA Division II Midwest Regional Rankings and will await the next set of rankings, which will be announced Wednesday with the official NCAA Tournament selections set to be made late this coming Sunday evening.

This year marks the fifth-straight year in which the Bulldogs have won 20 games or more.