Huge Second Half Sparks #3 Ferris State To Home Win Over Northwood At Wink Arena

Postgame Highlights   
Postgame Press Conference 

Big Rapids, Mich. – The nationally thirdranked Ferris State University men's basketball squad powered past the Northwood University Timberwolves for its 10th win in a row and nation-leading 22nd victory of the season with an 88-60 triumph on Thursday (Feb. 1) evening at FSU's Jim Wink Arena in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) play.

The Bulldogs erupted for a 51-25 margin in the second half following a hotly contested opening 20 minutes, shooting 10% percent higher in the second half than the first en route to the win.

Ferris State junior center Zach Hankins finished with 20 points, 11 rebounds and six blocked shots to lead all players in all three categories while junior forward Markese Mayfield also picked up a double-double on 15 points and 11 rebounds to go with four blocked shots.

The Bulldogs won the battle on the glass 50-38 for the game along with holding a 44-30 scoring margin inside the paint over the Timberwolves on the night. FSU outscored NU 18-5 on the offensive glass and 17-9 in points off turnovers for the game.

Overall, FSU shot 45.9% overall, including a 51% effort in the second frame while limiting Northwood to 35% shooting and only a nine-of-34 (26.5%) figure in the final 20 minutes of action.

Senior guard Drew Cushingberry had nine of his 13 points in the second half to go with nine assists for the game, as well as six rebounds. Fellow seniors Noah King and Peter Firlik combined for 15 points and 10 rebounds to round out the starting five for the Bulldogs.

Off the bench, junior guard DeShaun Thrower finished with five points while junior guard Greg Williams also scored five, hitting a three in the contest.

After the Bulldogs went 1-of-8 from beyond the arc in the first half, Ferris State hit three of them in the second frame.

Northwood was led by the 14 points of David Jelinek and got depth of scoring off the bench. The Timberwolves had 37 bench points to the Bulldogs 25 in the game, their lone advantage.

FSU head coach Andy Bronkema was able to go deep into his second unit as 15 Bulldogs saw action in the contest with the large second half lead. A total of 12 of the 15 Bulldogs that played scored two or more points for the night.

The win is the the Bulldogs' 97th in the current four-year stretch, the most in program history for a four-year period as the number continues to grow with the Bulldogs at the top of the GLIAC.

Ferris State improved to 22-1 overall and 12-1 in the GLIAC while holding onto a two-game lead atop the conference standings with seven games left in the regular-season. FSU also stayed unbeaten (13-0) at home this year.

With the seteback, Northwood fell to 9-12 overall and 5-8 in the GLIAC. The loss snapped a six-game win streak for Northwood and gave FSU a season sweep over the Timberwolves.

Ferris State wraps up its three-game homestand on Saturday (Feb. 3) as the Bulldogs take on the Saginaw Valley State Cardinals at Wink Arena starting at 1 p.m. (ET).