Bulldog Men's Basketball Opens Slate By Beating Past Stars In Annual Alumni Game

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University men's basketball team opened the 2016-17 campaign in front of the home fans by beating a group of former standouts in a 101-79 victory during the program's annual Alumni Game on Saturday (Oct. 22) night inside FSU's Jim Wink Arena.

The Bulldogs, who reached the NCAA Division II Sweet Sixteen a year ago, placed three players in double-figure scoring against the alums with transfer Mory Diane tallying a squad-best 21 points in his Bulldog debut. FSU freshman D'angelo Hughes tallied 11 points with sophomore center Zach Hankins scoring 10 points in the win.

A strong and talented group of alumni players were led by former player and assistant coach Daniel Sutherlin, who totaled a game-high 24 points. Another former FSU forward and longtime professional player scored 21 points on the front line in Terrance Shaw while last year's starting point guard Jibreel Jackson contributed 12 points.

The Ferris State men's basketball program will open its fourth season under head coach Andy Bronkema. FSU won the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Tournament Championship for the second consecutive year last season and reached the NCAA-II Sweet Sixteen in the third season under Bronkema's direction.

The Bulldog men's basketball squad closed a memorable 2015-16 campaign with a 24-10 overall record. FSU reached the NCAA Division II Tournament for the second year in a row and claimed a second-straight GLIAC Tournament Championship while finishing with its first back-to-back 20-win campaigns since the late 1980's.

The Bulldog men will next play a pair of road exhibition contests against NCAA Division I schools before the start of the regular season, including matchups versus perennially-strong Xavier (Nov. 5) and in-state foe Detroit (Nov. 7).

The 2016-17 men's basketball regular-season will tipoff on Nov. 11-12 when FSU heads to St. Louis for the GLIAC/GLVC Classic to play Missouri-St. Louis and Quincy (Ill.) in regional play. The first regular-season home game for the men's squad is on Nov. 19 against Lewis (Ill.).

For complete 2016-17 Bulldog schedules, please visit FerrisStateBulldogs.com.

Below is the scoring summary from the Alumni Game:

FERRIS STATE
Quentin Ruff 5, D'angelo Hughes 11, Markese Mayfield 6, Drew Cushingberry 9, Mory Diane 21, Billy Burton 6, Greg Williams 7, Jaylin McFadden 4, Andrew Meacham 5, Michael Peterson 6, Peter Firlik 8, Cole Walker 3, Zach Hankins 10

ALUMNI
Jibreel Jackson 12, Ty Miller 7, James Chappell 1, Raymoan McAfee 4, Spencer Sellner 3, Terrance Shaw 21, Daniel Sutherlin 24, Willie Burrel 7