FSU Men Top Lake Erie To Stretch GLIAC Lead

Replay Bulldog Sports Network Audio Broadcast

Painesville, Ohio - The Ferris State University men's basketball squad took a two-game lead in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) North Division standings with a 77-64 league road win over Lake Erie on Thursday (Feb. 10) night at the Jerome T. Osborne Family Athletic and Wellnes Center in Painesville, Ohio.

The Bulldogs won their ninth consecutive game with the victory over the Storm in the first-ever series' matchup.  The win, combined with rival Grand Valley State's loss at Ashland, gives FSU a two-game edge over the Lakers in the divisional standings with four games left in regular-season play.

FSU took a 38-30 advantage at the break despite shooting only 38.7% (12-31) from the floor in the first half of play.  The Storm, however, quickly tied the game back up to start the second period before Ferris pushed the advantage back to double-digits and never trailed the rest of the way.

Senior forward/center Justin Keenan (Grand Rapids/Ottawa Hills) had another outstanding performance for the Bulldogs with a game-high 30 points and a personal career-high 17 rebounds in the win.  Sophomore guard Kenny Brown (Farmington Hills/Harrison) added 15 points for FSU while senior guard Matt DeHart (Greenville) totaled 12 points in the Bulldog victory.

Ferris shot 41.1% (23-56) overall from the floor and made 24-of-32 (75%) free throws in the triumph. The Storm, meanwhile, managed to shoot 40.7% (22-54) overall and connected on 15-of-20 (75%) free throws.

The Bulldogs hit seven-of-13 (53.8%) three-pointers and held a slim 39-36 rebounding edge for the night with the Storm hitting only five-of-19 (26.3%) triples.

FSU compiled 14 assists, nine steals and had two blocked shots while turning the ball over only seven times for the game.  Seven of FSU's assists came from junior guard Dontae Molden (Detroit/Pershing) while both Keenan and DeHart netted three steals apiece.

The Storm were paced by Ethan Bradshaw's team-high 17 points and Riley Thomas chipped in with 16 points for Lake Erie, which fell to 5-16 overall and 1-13 in league play.

Lake Erie dished out only seven assists with three blocked shots and two thefts.  They also turned it over 12 times as FSU posted a 17-4 margin in points off miscues.

Overall, the Bulldogs have now won 11 of their last 12 games this season.  FSU owns a 17-5 record and is 13-2 in the GLIAC.

The Bulldogs wrap up their two-game trip to Ohio by visiting Ashland on Saturday (Feb. 12) for a 1 p.m. (ET) league tilt at AU's Kates Gymnasium in Ashland, Ohio. 

Ferris then returns home for its final three regular-season games against Wayne State (Feb. 17), Findlay (Feb. 19) and Grand Valley State (Feb. 26).  All three teams have been ranked nationally at one point this campaign.

Bulldog Bites: FSU is presently ranked ninth in the lastest NCAA-II Midwest Regional Rankings (as of Feb. 9) ...... The Bulldogs' Justin Keenan now needs only 50 points to become the GLIAC's all-time career scoring leader ..... Ferris outscored LEC 26-20 in the paint ..... The Bulldogs also owned a 16-5 advantage in second chance production.