Early Second-Half Surge Sparks Ferris State To Men's Basketball Exhibition Win

Grand Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University men's basketball team turned up the pressure in the second half and came away with a 85-70 exhibition win over longtime West Michigan rival Calvin College on Thursday (Nov. 7) night at Van Noord Arena in Grand Rapids.

FSU trailed 44-42 at halftime, but outscored the Knights 43-26 over the final 20 minutes to wrap up the preseason schedule under first-year head coach Andy Bronkema.

The Bulldogs forced 15 turnovers in the contest and quickly grabbed the lead in the second half with several key steals that led to easy transition baskets.  Calvin had nine second-half turnovers.

Sophomore Josh Fleming continued his impressive play and finished with a game-high 20 points in leading the Bulldogs, who shot 45.6% (31-68) overall.  FSU was five-of-12 (41.7%) from three-point range and made 18-of-30 (60%) free throws in the victory.

The Bulldogs also received 17 points from junior guard Dietrich Lever along with 10 by junior forward James Chappell. Junior guard Drew Lehman added nine points with both sophomore guard Jibreel Jackson and junior guard Matt Poches adding seven points each.

Calvin was paced by Mickey DeVries and Tyler Kruis, who each had 14 points in the contest.  Jordan Brink added 10 points with B.J. Van Loo chipping in eight points.

Ferris State also had a big night on the offensive glass with 23 boards, which helped FSU own a 42-37 edge on the boards.  Calvin managed 15 offensive caroms.

FSU was led on the boards by Chappell with eight boards. Senior Raymoan McAfee chipped in seven rebounds to go with six points and also had a team-best three blocked shots.  Ferris State blocked nine shots overall as Fleming, Chappell and sophomore center Jared Stolicker each added two.

In addition to his scoring total, Lever dished out a game-high tying four assists and had two steals.  FSU also received three assists by Chappell and two from Fleming while both of those players also tallied two steals each.  

Overall, the Bulldogs had 13 assists and eight steals as compared to Calvin's 17 assists and four thefts.

Calvin is the preseason favorite to win the MIAA title and coming off a 26-4 overall season a year ago in which they reached the NCAA Division III Sweet Sixteen.

Ferris State will officially open the 2013-14 campaign as the Bulldogs visit regional foe Lewis (Ill.) on Wednesday, Nov. 20.  Tipoff is set for 8:30 p.m. (ET) in Romeoville, Ill.