FSU

#8 Ferris State Grinds Out League Road Win In Michigan's Upper Peninsula

Postgame Interview Video

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University men's basketball squad went on the road and grinded out a hard-fought 61-48 triumph over host Northern Michigan on Thursday (Jan. 16) night as the nationally eighth-ranked Bulldogs claimed their third-straight road triumph at the Berry Events Center in Marquette.

The Bulldogs used a balanced effort to move to 18-2 overall and hold onto first place in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) with a 7-1 league mark.

Ferris State built a six-point halftime lead in the low scoring affair and outscored NMU 31-24 in the final half to garner the win.

Sophomore forward Mason Pline paced FSU with 12 points and 10 rebounds in a double-double effort, but was the lone Bulldog player to reach double-figure scoring. Junior guard Walt Kelser added nine points with junior Dorian Aluyi totaling eight points overall for Ferris State.

Defensively, the Bulldogs had a strong performance as they limited NMU to 30.4% shooting, including a 1-of-18 (5.6%) effort from the three-point line. The Wildcats also made only 52% (13-25) of their free throws.

Meanwhile, Ferris State overcame 35% shooting for the night as FSU controlled the glass with a 46-37 rebounding margin.

Northern Michigan was paced by Troy Summers, who finished with a game-high 20 points. Dolapo Olayinka added 10 points in the setback as NMU fell to 7-9 overall and 4-4 in conference play.

All 10 Bulldog players that saw action scored as the FSU bench produced 31 total points in the victory.

Overall, the Bulldogs led for more than 38 minutes in the game and NMU never had more than a one-point advantage in the contest.

The Bulldogs will wrap up a five-game conference road swing as they close out their trip to Michigan's Upper Peninsula on Saturday (Jan. 18) versus Michigan Tech starting at 3 p.m. (ET) in Houghton.