Men's Basketball To Face Aquinas In Exhibition

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University men's basketball team will hit the floor for the first time this season with an exhibition contest against the Aquinas Saints on Thursday (Oct. 28) evening in Grand Rapids.

The Bulldogs and the Saints will tipoff at 7 p.m. (ET) in Aquinas' new Sturrus Sports and Fitness Center, which officially opened this week.  The game will also be broadcast live by Michigan Sports Radio and can be accessed online at http://www.michigansportsradio.com/.

The new $12 million Sturrus Sports & Fitness Center opened on Oct. 25 and features a new fitness center, competition court, main floor locker rooms and more.

Ferris State owns a commanding 55-16 all-time series' advantage in regular-season contests against Aquinas, but narrowly beat the Saints 66-56 in an exhibition game last year (10/29/09) held at Greenville (Mich.) High School.

FSU and Aquinas last squared off in regular-season play with the Bulldogs prevailing 79-77 during the 2004-05 season (11/20) at FSU's Jim Wink Arena.  Aquinas registered a 21-12 overall mark a year ago along with a 9-5 mark in the the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) under head coach Dave Hammer, who starts his eighth season at the helm.

The Bulldog men's basketball team, which is guided by ninth-year head coach Bill Sall, welcomes back sevenletterwinners from last campaign and officially opened preseason practices on Oct. 15.

Six of the men's players returning started at least one contest a year ago and the Bulldogs figure to be lead by 2010-11 Division II Bulletin Preseason National Player of the Year Justin Keenan, who earned All-America First Team accolades a season ago.

FSU concluded the 2009-10 men's basketball campaign with a 16-13 overall record and the Bulldogs placed tied for second (13-9) in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) North Division play. Additionally, FSU made its 11th GLIAC Tournament appearance last campaign, which was the program's fifth berth in the last six years.

Thursday's matchup is the first of two exhibitions for the Bulldogs this season as FSU next visits one of college basketball's most storied venues to square off against one of college basketball's all-time winningest programs in the Indiana Hoosiers on Monday, Nov. 8, at Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Ind.  The game is slated for a 7 p.m. (ET) tipoff.

Ferris hosts longtime West Michigan foe Calvin in its first official contest on Saturday, Nov. 13, at 7:30 p.m. (ET) inside FSU's Jim Wink Arena in Big Rapids.