Ferris State Secures Top Seed For GLIAC Tourney And Outright Championship With Big Win

Game Highlights 
Postgame Interview 

Marquette, Mich. - The nationally third-ranked Ferris State University men's basketball squad earned the top seed for the 2018 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Tournament and secured the league's outright regular-season crown by beating Northern Michigan 98-84 on Saturday (Feb. 17) inside the Berry Events Center.

The Bulldogs won their 15th-straight game and pulled out a nation-leading 27th win of the campaign to finish off a four-game league road swing. FSU will now play its final two games of the regular-season back at home inside FSU's Jim Wink Arena this coming week.

FSU got off to a quick start against the Wildcats and led 39-32 at halftime before putting up 59 points in the second half in a high-scoring affair.

Ferris State got a huge performance from junior center Zach Hankins, who shot 14-of-18 from the floor and finished with a game-high 31 points and 18 rebounds. Senior guard Drew Cushingberry added 17 points for FSU with the Bulldogs also getting 11 points apiece from both junior forward Markese Mayfield and senior guard Peter Firlik.

Overall, the Bulldogs shot 54.5% from the floor and FSU knocked down 21-of-25 (84%) free throws while shooting five-of-15 (33.3%) beyond the three-point stripe.

The Wildcats converted at a 42.9% clip from the field and made nine-of-27 (33.3%) three's in addition to 15-of-23 (65.2%) attempts at the line.

Standout guard Naba Echols led NMU with 30 points while Will Carius added 17 points and Isaiah Johnson contributed 15 points.

The Bulldogs outrebounded NMU 47-29 for the game and had 11 offensive boards in the win.

With the victory, Ferris State improved to 27-1 overall and 17-1 in the GLIAC. Northern Michigan fell to 14-11 overall and 11-7 in conference action.

FSU returns home to host Purdue Northwest on Thursday (Feb. 22) starting at 5:30 p.m. (ET) before entertaining rival Grand Valley State in the regular-season finale for Senior Day on Saturday (Feb. 24) beginning at 1 p.m. (ET) inside Jim Wink Arena.