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Ferris State Posts First-Ever Road Win Over Findlay En Route To Ninth-Straight Victory

Ferris State Posts First-Ever Road Win Over Findlay En Route To Ninth-Straight Victory

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University men's basketball squad registered a memorable victory to open the New Year as FSU posted its first-ever win over the Findlay Oilers at UF's Croy Gymnasium by a 79-73 count before a large crowd on Friday (Jan. 2) night in Findlay, Ohio.

The win over the Oilers came in the first game back from the holiday break to open 2015 for the Bulldogs, who won their ninth-straight regular season contest to improve to 9-2 overall. FSU also stayed unbeaten and held onto a share of first place in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) North Division with a 5-0 conference mark.

The win was FSU's 10th in a row counting an exhibition triumph over NCAA Division I Bowling Green State just up the road from Findlay in the Bulldogs' final outing of the 2014 calendar year on Dec. 21.

After coming close to beating the Oilers several times on the road in recent memory, Ferris State finally pulled out its first win in history at Croy versus UF. The Bulldogs led most of the way and held a six-point lead at the break before a crowd of nearly 1,200 fans.

In the second half, FSU pushed the lead to double-digits and led by as many as 17 points with 10:22 to go before the Oilers rallied. They trimmed the margin down to six points inside of a minute, but the Bulldogs kept UF at bay by sinking several key free throws down the stretch to earn the win.

Senior guard Drew Lehman had another big showing in his return to his home state of Ohio by scoring a game-high 17 points. Junior forward James Chappell added 15 points and a contest-high 10 rebounds in a double-double performance. Junior guard Jibreel Jackson also reached double-digits with 10 points.

All 10 Bulldog players that saw action scored in the opening half and provided key contributions in the win. Junior forward Josh Fleming scored nine points and freshman guard Drew Cushingberry came off the bench to provide nine points as well. Senior guard Dietrich Lever tallied eight points in the victory.

FSU shot 51.7% from the floor and hit six-of-13 (46.2%) three's along with 11-of-19 (57.9%) free throws in the triumph. The Bulldogs also owned a 40-33 rebounding edge, which included 17 offensive boards.

Findlay was led by John Staley, who had 15 points in the setback. Ricardo Smith totaled 14 points, Elijah Kahlig totaled 13 points and Dylan Kaufman chipped in 12 points for UF, which fell to 4-5 overall and 1-4 in the GLIAC.

The Oilers finished shooting 44.3% for the night and were five-of-21 (23.8%) from downtown and 14-of-20 (70%) at the line.

Ferris State turned the ball over 15 times in the game, but FSU also came up with eight steals and had seven blocked shots on the defensive end. Three of the blocks came from Fleming while Chappell added two to aid the FSU cause.

In addition to Chappell's 10 boards, senior forward Matt Stoll provided seven rebounds while Lehman added six. Both Lehman and Fleming also dished out a team-leading three assists each in the triumph.

Ferris State will continue its two-game road swing against Wayne State on Sunday (Jan. 4) with tipoff set for 3 p.m. (ET) at the Matthaei Complex in Detroit. Sunday's contest against the Warriors can be heard live on Sunny 97.3 FM and the Bulldog Sports Network at FerrisStateBulldogs.com.

Bulldog Bites: Findlay had won 97 of its last 100 GLIAC regular-season home contests prior to the setback versus FSU .... The Bulldogs had held a late double-digit lead two seasons ago inside Croy before falling to Findlay in overtime in their most recent game played in the facility .... While FSU hadn't posted a win over the Oilers on their home floor, the Bulldogs did post two NCAA Tournament wins en route to a NCAA-II Sweet Sixteen appearance at Croy back in 2005 ..... The Ferris State men's and women's basketball squads now own a combined 9-1 conference mark this year, which is the best league record of any school in the GLIAC to date ..... FSU remains tied with Lake Superior State and Saginaw Valley State atop the league as all three schools are 5-0 in conference action.