Ferris State Takes Michigan Tech To Wire In Narrow Road Setback

Houghton, Mich. - The Ferris State University men's basketball team battled host Michigan Tech down the wire, but fell short in a 74-64 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) road setback on Thursday (Jan. 16) night at the Student Development Complex Gymnasium in Houghton.

The Bulldogs trailed by as many as 15 points with two minutes to play in the opening half before trimming the margin to nine at the break. In the second half, FSU cut the margin down to a single point at one stage, but Michigan Tech held on to register the win.

Michigan Tech made 12 three's for the night and shot 46.3% from the floor in improving to 10-3 overall and 6-3 in the GLIAC.  FSU dropped to 6-7 overall and 5-4 in league play with the loss.

Junior guard Dietrich Lever paced Ferris State with 19 points in the game while sophomore guard Milton Cribbs contributed 11 points in a starting role as FSU played without the services of sophomore forward Josh Fleming due to injury.

FSU also received 10 points each from junior guard Drew Lehman along with wing Matt Poches in the setback. 

Overall, Ferris State shot 42.6% from the field and made eight-of-19 (42.1%) three's along with 10-of-17 (58.8%) free throws. MTU made 12-of-27 (44.4%) long range tries in addition to 12-of-19 (63.2%) attempts from the charity stripe.

Michigan Tech was led by senior guard Austin Armgra, who finished with a game-high 21 points but still finished four points shy of his season average. Ben Stelzer added 15 points with Alex Culy notching 12 points and Connor McLeod scoring 10 off the bench.

Ferris State outrebounded Michigan Tech 37-34 for the night and came up with 12 offensive boards to 10 for the Huskies. However, the Bulldogs also finished with 10 turnovers to only eight for Michigan Tech.

Cribbs paced Ferris State on the glass with eight rebounds while Lever tallied a squad-best three assists. Senior forward Raymoan McAfee added three blocked shots to go with seven points and five boards.

FSU finished with eight assists, four blocked shots and three steals in the game compared to MTU's 15 assists, five steals and a single block. Stelzer dished out a game-high four assists and tallied four steals for Michigan Tech.

Ferris State will wrap up its four-game league road swing on Saturday (Jan. 18) as the Bulldogs visit Northern Michigan for a 1 p.m. (ET) league tilt inside the Berry Events Center in Marquette. The contest will mark FSU's first outing against former Bulldog head coach and current NMU coach Bill Sall.

Saturday's game can be heard live on Sunny 97.3 FM and the Bulldog Sports Network online at FerrisStateBulldogs.com.