Ferris State Suffers First Conference Setback Of Season In Monday Matchup At Davenport

Postgame Interview 

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University men's basketball squad battled to the finish on Monday (Feb. 7) night, but suffered its first Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) setback of the season in a close 75-73 road decision at Davenport.

The host Panthers forced 16 FSU turnovers and used a strong zone defense to slow down one of the nation's highest-powered attacks while earning the triumph. The two teams were meeting for the second time in five days after Ferris State's 17-point home win over Davenport this past Thursday night in Big Rapids.

In Monday's rematch, Davenport started strong and the two teams battled back and forth in the opening half, exchanging the lead eight times in the initial 20 minutes of the contest before FSU took a 38-36 halftime lead.

However, DU responded in the second half and took an eight-point lead, which was the largest for either team in the game, with 11:27 left in the stanza.

Ferris State, ranked ninth and 15th nationally in two different Division II national polls, fought back down the stretch and eventually trimmed the lead to a single point at 72-71 win the final minute, but a big three-point play from Davenport's Jairus Stevens pushed the margin back to four and DU held on for the upset.

Ferris State dropped to 18-4 overall and 13-1 in the GLIAC while seeing its nine-game winning streak come to a half. Meanwhile, DU improved to 9-9 on the year.

The Bulldogs were led by graduate senior Lee Higgins with 18 points. Senior guard Walt Kelser added 15 points and Ben Davidson contributed 10 points off the bench in the loss. FSU also got seven points and 13 boards from senior center Logan Ryan with senior forward Dorian Aluyi adding six points with seven assists and 10 rebounds.

Ferris State shot 41.4% overall from the floor and finished nine-of-31 (29%) from long range against DU's defensive effort. The Bulldogs also made 16-of-21 (76.2%) free throws.

Davenport got a game-high 21 points from Chris Rollins, who was one of four DU starters to reach double-digits. Center Luke Maranka totaled 15 points with Marcedus Leech, Jr., adding 13 points and Jarrin Randall scoring 10 points.

Overall, the Panthers shot 46.4% from the field and hit eight-of-19 (42.1%) from beyond the arc while making 15-of-20 (75%) free throws.

While Ferris State owned a 40-26 rebounding margin and netted a decisive 15-0 advantage in second chance production thanks to 12 offensive caroms, the Bulldogs were outscored 23-8 in points off turnovers and 24-12 on the break. DU finished with only nine turnovers and also came up with 11 steals defensively.

The Bulldogs, who still hold a two-game lead atop the GLIAC standings, will visit Lake Superior State on Thursday (Feb. 10) for a 7:30 p.m. (ET) conference tilt in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.