Inspired Performance Lifts Bulldogs Past Ashland For Bounce Back Victory

Inspired Performance Lifts Bulldogs Past Ashland For Bounce Back Victory

Postgame Interview Video

Big Rapids, Mich. - An inspired effort and improved performance lifted the Ferris State University men's basketball squad to an exciting 69-68 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) road win over the Ashland Eagles on Saturday (Jan. 9) in Ashland, Ohio.

The Bulldogs, who dropped the opener of the back-to-back weekend matchup on Friday to the Eagles, bounced back in a big way to earn the victory. FSU built a double-digit lead in the first half and held on down the stretch to garner the triumph.

A potential game-winning try from Ashland's Aaron Thompson came up short as time expired as the Bulldogs preserved the win.

The Bulldogs got off a solid start and senior guard Walt Kelser came up big in the second half for FSU. After not making a field goal attempt in the first half, he finished with a game-high 22 points for the Bulldogs and knocked down a pair of three's in the final half.

Along with Kelser, senior forward Michael Peterson tallied 14 points for the Bulldogs in the win and junior guard Quantes Jackson came off the bench to play a significant role with 10 points in 19 minutes of work. Senior forward Logan Ryan added nine points on four-of-five shooting.

The Bulldogs shot 49% on Saturday from the floor and hit nine-of-17 (53.9%) three's. FSU also went 12-of-13 (92.3%) at the charity stripe after mustering only five free throw attempts in Friday's weekend opener.

Thompson paced the Eagles with 18 points while Bo Furcron added 14 points in the setback, which dropped AU to 1-2 overall this year. Both Derek Koch and Hunter Shedenhelm totaled 10 points each for the Eagles.

Overall, Ashland also shot well at a 53.7% clip and the Eagles also hit nine three's, going nine-of-16 (56.3%) in addition to 15-of-18 (83.3%) at the line.

The Bulldogs finished with a 23-22 rebounding edge and cut their turnovers down as they finished with only 10 in the game as compared to 13 for the Eagles.

The two games represented the final GLIAC matchups in the regular-season between the two longtime conference counterparts with Ashland moving to the Great Midwest Athletic Conference next season.

Ferris State will be back on the road next weekend as FSU travels to Wisconsin-Parkside for a pair of league games on Friday and Saturday (Jan. 15-16) with both games slated for 4 p.m. (ET) tipoff times in Kenosha, Wis.