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Bulldogs Continue To Roll & Win 10th-Straight By Beating WSU In Motor City

Bulldogs Continue To Roll & Win 10th-Straight By Beating WSU In Motor City

Detroit, Mich. - The Ferris State University men's basketball team continued its roll as the Bulldogs posted only their second win over Wayne State in Detroit in the last 20 years with a 85-69 triumph over the Warriors on Sunday (Jan. 4) at the Matthaei Complex in the Motor City.

The Bulldogs notched their 10th-straight win and stayed unbeaten atop the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) North Division standings with the hard-fought double digit victory.

Ferris State, which was coming off the program's first-ever road win over Findlay at UF's Croy Gymnasium on Friday night, wrapped up the two-game road set by improving to 10-2 overall this season. FSU was also ranked fourth in the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional Media Rankings this past week prior to the two wins to open the New Year.

FSU jumped out to a quick start against the Warriors as they built a double-digit lead in the opening minutes of the initial frame. The Bulldogs held a 41-27 lead at halftime.

In the second half, though, Wayne State chipped away at the FSU advantage and cut the margin down to six points, but every time the Warriors tried to pull closer the Bulldogs had an answer.
Senior guard Drew Lehman continued his stellar play by producing a game-high 22 points for the Bulldogs and hit a trio of three-pointers in the victory. He added five assists and three boards.

Along with Lehman, FSU had three other starters reach double-figure scoring. Junior forward James Chappell tallied 16 points despite battling foul trouble in the opening half and sealed the win with an emphatic dunk down the lane as the shot clock was running down in the final minute. He also had three rebounds.

Junior center Jared Stolicker tallied 15 points on seven-of-12 shooting for the Bulldogs and pulled down a team-high six rebounds in the win. Additionally, junior forward Josh Fleming produced 14 points.

Finally, senior guard Dietrich Lever dished out a squad-best six assists with four points, three rebounds and two steals for Ferris State.

FSU shot 44 .1% for the game and hit eight-of-23 (34.8%) three's to go with a 17-of-21 (81%) showing at the free throw stripe. Meanwhile, Wayne State heated up in the second half to finish with a 45.1% overall percentage, but was only three-of-12 (25%) from beyond the arc along with 20-of-27 (74.1%) at the line.

Gavin Toma totaled 16 points in leading Wayne State while both Daniel Ball and Clark Bishop netted 12 points each. Tristan Wilson scored nine points off the bench while Marcus Moore led the Warriors with eight rebounds and six assists.

Ferris State was outrebounded 37-36, however FSU came up with 13 offensive boards to only nine for Wayne State, which led to a 18-7 advantage in second chance production.
FSU also forced 17 turnovers and had only eight of its own in posting a 15-9 margin in points off turnovers.

The game featured only a single lead change as FSU never trailed again after Wayne State scored the opening basket of the game. The Warriors, who were tied for first place in the GLIAC South Division entering the contest, dropped to 2-7 overall and 2-4 in league play.

With the win, the Bulldogs held onto a share of first place in the GLIAC as both FSU and Saginaw Valley State own identical 6-0 conference records as the lone remaining unbeaten squads in league action.

Ferris State returns home for a pair of contests inside FSU's Jim Wink Arena this coming week. The Bulldogs host Malone on Thursday (Jan. 8) night at 8 p.m. (ET) and then square off with Walsh on Saturday (Jan. 10) beginning at 3 p.m. (ET).