Keenan Leads Bulldogs To GLIAC Road Win

Hillsdale, Mich. - The Ferris State men's basketball team got off to a hot start and went on to record a 78-67 victory over the Hillsdale Chargers in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) men's basketball action on Saturday (Dec. 12) afternoon inside Jesse Philips Arena at Hillsdale, Mich.

Preseason All-America nominee Justin Keenan fueled the Bulldogs with a season-high 32 points and nine rebounds.  He was nine-of-12 from the floor and sank 14-of-19 free throws in 30 minutes of action.

Junior guard Darien Gay added 20 points as well for FSU as the Bulldogs improved to 4-4 overall and 4-1 in the GLIAC.  The win was FSU's fourth victory in its last five outings to date.

Ferris also received 11 rebounds from senior guard Jon Yeazel while senior guard Josh Young chipped in with seven points in the winning cause."

The Bulldogs shot 50% (25-50) for the game and connected on 24-of-32 (75%) free throws as Hillsdale dropped to 1-6 overall and 1-2 in conference action. Ferris hit 14-of-27 (51.9%) field goals in the initial half.

FSU also owned a 43-32 rebounding edge for the game and limited the Chargers to only 36.7% (22-60) field goal shooting, including a 33% (9-27) figure in the initial period.  They were four-of-24 (16.7%) behind the three-point line and 19-of-28 (67.9%) at the stripe in the loss.

Hillsdale native Luke Laser paced the Chargers with 25 points while Tyler Gerber chipped in with 13 points and Brent Eaton added 10 points.

Ferris managed 12 assists, seven steals and one blocked shots compared to HC's eight assists, four thefts and two blocks.

Saturday's game wrapped up the pre-holiday portion of the Bulldogs' 2009-10 schedule.

The Bulldogs are now idle until Dec. 29-30 when they return to the floor by taking part in the Porreco Cup hosted by Gannon University in Erie, Pa.  FSU will face Taylor (Ind.) in the opening game of the event on Dec. 29 at 6 p.m. (EST) with the tournament's consolation and championship games scheduled for Dec. 30 at 6 and 8 p.m., respectively.

Bulldog Bites: The victory helped the Bulldogs snap a four-game series' losing streak to the Chargers.  FSU has now won six of the last 10 meetings overall ....... Ferris head coach Bill Sall improved to 6-5 overall in his head coaching career against Hillsdale, where he served as an assistant coach from 1998 to 2002 prior to taking over the Bulldog program ....... Saturday's game saw the return of former Hillsdale head coach Ed Douma to Philips Arena.  Douma is currently a volunteer assistant coach for FSU and previously served as Hillsdale's head coach for nine years until 2007 ..... Former Ferris standout point guard Dennis Springs, who's the school's all-time assists leader and led the Bulldogs to two NCAA Tournament appearances in 2005 and 2006, attended the game and was a special guest on local radio station WBRN's halftime coverage of the contest.