Ferris State Men's Basketball Cruises To Eighth-Straight Win By Beating Saint Joseph's

Rensselaer, Ind. - The Ferris State University men's basketball squad bolted out to a big first-half advantage and cruised to an impressive 86-59 regional win over St. Joseph's (Ind.) in non-league play on Friday (Dec. 19) evening in Rensselaer, Ind.

The Bulldogs notched their eighth-straight victory of the season with the win inside the Richard F. Scharf Alumni Fieldhouse. FSU improved to 8-2 overall with the victory and is one of three unbeaten teams in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) action with a 4-0 conference mark at the holiday break.

Ferris State shot 54.5% for the game and built a 42-26 halftime lead en route to the convincing win. FSU hit eight-of-17 (47.1%) three's, including a four-of-eight showing from freshman guard Noah King, who finished with a team-best 18 points in the game.

King helped push FSU's advantae to as many as 35 points in the second half as he drained three treys in the opening five minutes of the second frame to help the Bulldogs increase their advantage.

Along with King, FSU received 13 points from junior forward Josh Fleming in addition to 12 points by junior forward James Chappell. Senior guard Drew Lehman added 11 points and senior guard Dietrich Lever chipped in 10 points overall.

Ferris State was aided by a decisive rebounding advantage as FSU pulled down 45 caroms to only 25 for the Pumas, who dropped to 3-8 overall with the setback. Ferris State also grabbed 10 offensive boards to three for SJC.

While Saint Joseph's only had 14 turnovers and FSU had 12, the Bulldogs capitalized on the Pumas' miscues as FSU held a 27-10 margin in points off turnovers. Ferris State also outscored SJC in decided fashion in the paint by a 48-18 count.

Overall, the Bulldogs never trailed in the game after jumping out to an early 8-0 lead. They tallied all 10 fast break points in the contest and FSU's bench outscored the Pumas 34-26 for the night.

Ferris State dished out 17 assists, including four from Lehman and three by both lever and freshman guard Drew Cushingberry. FSU also came up with nine steals with Lehman notching four in the game.

On the boards, FSU received seven rebounds each from King, Fleming and senior forward Matt Stoll. Junior guard Jibreel Jackson added five for FSU. The Bulldogs also blocked two shots.

Saint Joseph's was paced by talented guard Cameron Vines with 22 points, but he was the lone SJC player to reach double-digits. The Pumas finished with 10 assists, four steals and two blocks in the game while being limited to 34.6% shooting, including a six-of-20 (30%) effort behind the three-point arc and a 17-of-23 (73.9%) performance at the foul stripe.

Ferris State will visit NCAA Division I Bowling Green on Sunday (Dec. 21) for a 1 p.m. (ET) contest at the Stroh Center in Bowling Green, Ohio. The game will serve as an exhibition contest for the Bulldogs, but will be played as a regular-season outing for BGSU.

Sunday's game can be heard live on Sunny 97.3 FM and the Bulldog Sports Network at FerrisStateBulldogs.com starting with the Meijer Pregame Show at 12:30 p.m. (ET).