Ferris State Erupts For 115 Points In Decisive GLIAC Win Over Ohio Dominican

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Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University men's basketball squad kept the momentum going in a big way on Sunday (Dec. 14) as FSU stormed past visiting Ohio Dominican by a 115-46 score at Jim Wink Arena for the Bulldogs' sixth-straight win this season.

The Bulldogs jumped out to a 14-point lead only nine minutes into the contest and broke it open by going on a 18-0 run to stretch the advantaged to 43-11 with 5:42 remaining in the first half. The lead grew to 37 points at 54-17 at halftime and FSU never looked back.

In the second half, the Bulldogs pushed their lead to as many as 71 points before setting on the 69-point Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) victory.

With the win, Ferris State improved to 6-2 overall this season and stayed in first place in the GLIAC North Division standings with a 3-0 league record. The win also enabled the Bulldogs to move to 5-0 all-time versus Ohio Dominican.

Ferris State's 115 total points matched the current Jim Wink Arena scoring record originally recorded in a 115-60 non-league triumph over Kuyper College back in 2009 (1/5). It marked only the third time the Bulldogs have scored 110 points or more in at least the last 20 years, which also includes the win over Kuyper and a thrilling 110-104 overtime victory over Indianapolis at home back in 2004 (12/21).

Additionally, FSU topped the century mark in regular-season action for the first time in 40-minute regulation play since a 100-74 league win over Ashland in 2009 (1/17). Ferris State previously scored 107 points this year in a season-opening triple overtime loss at Quincy (Ill.).

The Bulldogs shot 62.3% from the floor in the win and hit on 50% of their three-point tries by sinking 13-of-26 treys. FSU also converted 16-of-24 (66.7%) free throws.

Six players reached double-figure scoring for FSU in the victory and all 12 players in uniform played at least nine minutes and scored for Ferris State.

Senior guard Drew Lehman spearheaded the Bulldog lineup with a game-high 17 points and added six assists, five steals and four rebounds while playing only 22 minutes. He was joined in double-figures by junior center Jared Stolicker, who tallied 16 points on eight-of-10 shooting to go with four rebounds and four steals in 20 minutes of work.

Junior forward James Chappell and freshman guard Noah King both scored 14 points for the Bulldogs while senior forward Matt Stoll and junior guard Matt Sinnaeve both came off the bench to record personal career-highs with 10 points each. A Sinnaeve bucket with four minutes to play put FSU over the 100-point mark in the outing.

Defensively, FSU limited ODU to only 33.3% shooting and the Panthers were just two-of-10 (20%) beyond the three-point line. They hit 14-of-22 (63.6%) free throws.

Ferris State posted a decided advantage on the glass by a 42-21 count and the Bulldogs grabbed 17 offensive boards to only eight for Ohio Dominican, leading to a 13-2 edge in second chance production.

FSU also forced 24 turnovers and came up with 15 steals while blocking nine shots on the day. ODU had six thefts, but no blocks. Ferris State turned it over only 10 times.

Along with the balanced lineup, Ferris State distributed the ball well as FSU came up with 29 assists, including six by Lehman along with five from senior guard Dietrich Lever and four from Chappell. ODU netted nine assists.

Ohio Dominican was paced in scoring by Bobby Stauffer with 11 points, but he was the lone Panther player to reach double-digits as ODU fell to 1-6 overall and 0-3 in the GLIAC.

Overall, Ferris State never trailed in the game and owned a 22-8 edge inside the paint while posting a decisive 46-13 margin in bench production.

Ferris State's 115 total points were only 11 shy of the school record of 126 set in a victory over Hillsdale in 1988 while the nine total blocks were two shy of the mark of 11 recorded against Grand Valley State in 2001. FSU also approached the school-best of 16 made three-pointers notched against Indianapolis in 2004, finishing only three shy for the game.

The victory started a busy week for the Bulldogs prior to the holiday break. FSU remains at home on Tuesday (Dec. 16) hosting Tiffin in league play with a special 12:30 p.m. (ET) start at Wink Arena. Children from area schools will be on hand for the special school day contest.

Ferris State then hits the road for two non-league outings next weekend with a visit to regional foe St. Joseph's for a rescheduled game on Friday (Dec. 19) night followed by an exhibition tilt versus NCAA Division I Bowling Green State on Sunday (Dec. 21) afternoon.