Ferris State Advances To GLIAC Semifinals With Postseason Home Victory Over Ashland
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Ashland (19-10,13-9 GLIAC) | 20 | 47 | 67 |
|
Ferris State (21-8, 16-6 GLIAC) | 31 | 48 | 79 |
Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University men's basketball squad opened the 2015 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Tournament with an exciting 79-67 victory over Ashland on Wednesday (March 4) night inside Jim Wink Arena as the Bulldogs advanced to the league final four for the first time in four years.
The Bulldogs, who were hosting their first postseason home contest since the 2010-11 season, beat the Eagles for the second time this season and won their third-straight game overall to improve to 21-8 on the year.
With the victory, third-seeded FSU will now square off against seventh-seeded Walsh in the semifinals on Saturday (March 7) in Sault Ste. Marie. Top-seeded Lake Superior State will host the semifinals along with Sunday's (March 8) title game.
The Lakers will face fourth-seeded Saginaw Valley State at 1 p.m. on Saturday with FSU and Walsh facing off at 3 p.m. The title game is Sunday at 2 p.m.
FSU jumped out to a 13-5 lead slightly more than 10 minutes into the game and brought the crowd to its feet with a thunderous and one dunk from junior forward Josh Fleming, who left no doubt with the spectacular finish.
Besides the dunk, Fleming sizzled in the contest as he continued his stellar play in the first half by connecting on back-to-back triples to push the Bulldogs' lead to 28-18 with three minutes to play in the opening stanza.
Shortly after, a block from junior center Jared Stolicker led to another FSU triple in transition. Freshman guard Noah King's three-point make gave the Bulldogs their biggest lead of the evening at 13 with one minute to play in the first half.
FSU took a 31-20 lead into the half with a strong defensive effort in the opening frame. The Bulldogs forced 12 turnovers while recording five blocks and six steals in the opening segment. It led to a 17-6 advantage in points off miscues.
Ferris State then withstood an early second half run from the Eagles as Ashland cut the margin all the way down to two points at 49-47 with 8:45 to go. From there, though, the Bulldogs scored 12-straight points to build a 61-47 lead and AU could get no closer than 10 points the rest of the way.
The Bulldogs finished the contest shooting 49.1% from the floor, while capitalizing on 6-of-20 (30%) three-point attempts. FSU also connected on 17-of-22 (77.3%) free throw attempts, including 12 in the final three minutes of the contest.
The Bulldogs were led by Fleming, who finished the night with 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting. He also added five rebounds and three assists. Junior forward James Chappell also stuffed the stat sheet with 19 points, eight boards and three assists. Joining them in double-figures was sophomore guard Jibreel Jackson with 10 points.
Senior guard Drew Lehman also contributed with four points and eight assists while Stolicker chipped in eight points and nine rebounds to go with a pair of blocked shots.
On the other side, the Eagles shot 38.1% from the field and netted just 6-of-23 (26.1%) three-point attempts. Ashland finished the evening making 13-of-20 (65%) free throw attempts. The Bulldogs held the Eagles to only 28% shooting in the entire first half.
Brook Turson led four Eagles in double-figures with 15 points. All-GLIAC performer Wendell Davis chipped in 13 points, seven boards and four assists. Paul Honigford and Adrian Cook rounded things out with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
The Bulldogs and Ashland both finished with 36 boards although Ashland grabbed 15 offensive rebounds to FSU's 10 overall. This resulted in a 10-7 Eagle advantage in second chance production.
Ferris State did have 18 turnovers while forcing 16 Ashland mistakes. The Bulldogs owned a 23-20 advantage in points off turnovers. FSU also held a 19-4 edge in fast break scoring.
Overall, Ferris State totaled 20 assists, nine steals and eight blocked shots to 13 assists, 10 steals and a single block by the Eagles, who wrapped up the year with a 19-10 mark after sharing the GLIAC South Division Championship.
Ferris State, which is midst its 15th all-time GLIAC Tournament appearance, will move on to the semifinals since making back-to-back berths in the final four in 2010 and 2011. FSU is making its ninth tournament appearance in the last 11 years to date.
The winner of the GLIAC Tournament receives the league's automatic bid into the NCAA Midwest Regional Tournament set for March 14-17 at a campus site. FSU moved up to sixth in the most recent regional rankings announced just prior to the quarterfinal game and is in position to potentially receive an at-large berth into the national tournament. The official NCAA field will be announced on Sunday night at 10:30 p.m. on NCAA.com.
With the win over Ashland, Ferris State wrapped up its home season with an impressive 12-3 mark inside Wink Arena where the Bulldogs led the GLIAC in attendance this season and set a new building record for average attendance in 2014-15.
The Bulldogs will join the FSU Hockey team this weekend in Sault Ste. Marie as Ferris State wraps up the regular season on the ice against LSSU on Friday and Saturday evenings.
Saturday's GLIAC Semifinal game will be aired live on Sunny 97.3 FM and the Bulldog Sports Network online at FerrisStateBulldogs.com starting with pregame coverage at 2:30 p.m. (ET).
Stay tuned to FerrisStateBulldogs.com for additional information on Thursday regarding ticket sales for the GLIAC Semifinals/Finals.
