Ferris State Men's Basketball Battles D1 Oakland To The Wire In Close Exhibition Setback

Highlights

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University men's basketball squad gave NCAA Division I Oakland University everything it could handle on Saturday (Nov. 1) in a 94-87 setback to the Golden Grizzlies at the Athletics Center O'Rena in Rochester, Mich.

The Bulldogs, who were facing Oakland for the first time since an upset win in 2000, bolted out to a 15-point lead with 12:37 remaining in the opening half and led 46-42 at the break. However, the Golden Grizzlies, who have advanced to the NCAA Tournament three times at the Division I level under longtime head coach Greg Kampe, battled back and outscored FSU 51-42 in the second half to earn the win.

Ferris State, which was taking the floor for the first time this season in exhibition play, placed four scorers in double-figures in its debut. Senior guard Drew Lehman led the way with a game-high tying 26 points while junior center Jared Stolicker contributed 18 points and 11 rebounds in a double-double showing.

FSU also received 13 points and six assists from senior guard Dietrich Lever with junior forward James Chappell adding 12 points and two steals in 19 minutes of action. Junior forward Josh Fleming contributed nine points and a game-high 15 rebounds off the bench for an FSU squad which played 10 different players in the outing.

Meanwhile, Oakland was able to battle back behind the scoring of Kahlil Fleder, who totaled 26 points on 10-of-21 shooting. The returning Horizon League Rookie of the Year pick added seven assists, but finished with six turnovers as well.

Oakland's Corey Petros recorded 22 points and 10 boards in a double-double performance while both Dante Williams and Max Hooper notched 13 points each.

Ferris State shot 48.6% for the game and hit eight-of-25 (32%) three's to go with a seven-of-nine (77.8%) showing at the free throw stripe. For Oakland, the Golden Grizzlies connected on 47.7% of their field goals and made five-of-16 (31.3%) three's in addition to 27-of-40 (67.5%) free throws as they held a decided edge both in makes and total attempts at the charity stripe.

The Bulldogs were slightly outrebounded 43-38 for the day, but managed 12 offensive boards in the contest. The turnovers were also close with FSU totaling 13 miscues to 10 for the hosts.

Both teams netted six steals and FSU owned a 4-2 edge in total blocked shots, which included a game-high four from Stolicker.

Overall, the lead changed hands four times on the afternoon with Oakland rallying back to post a lead as large as 11 points in the second half with just under five minutes remaining. Ferris State got as close as four with 2:49 left on a three-pointer from Fleming before Oakland held on for the victory.

Ferris State will wrap up its exhibition slate by hosting longtime West Michigan rival Calvin on Saturday, Nov. 8, beginning at 3:30 p.m. (ET) inside FSU's Jim Wink Arena. The Bulldogs then open the season on the road at the GLIAC/GLVC Challenge on Nov. 15-16 in Quincy, Ill.