Big Second Half Sparks Ferris State To Regional Victory Over Cedarville

Postgame Interview & Highlights 

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University men's basketball squad rallied from a 15-point deficit and tallied 64 points in the second half to beat Cedarville (Ohio) in regional action on Tuesday (Dec. 19) night inside FSU's Jim Wink Arena.

The Bulldogs closed the pre-holiday slate in a big way with the regional triumph, shooting 71.9% from the floor in the final 20 minutes en route to the win. The victory lifted FSU's record to 9-2 overall this season.

Cedarville started fast and led much of the way while knocking down 14 three's in the game. The Yellow Jackets led by 11 points at halftime, 38-27, and pushed the margin to 15 points with 17:27 to go before FSU rallied back.

Ferris State outscored Cedarville 64-44 in the final half, making 23-of-32 (71.9%) field goals and six-of-10 (60%) three's in the period. The Bulldogs shot 50.8% overall for the evening and finished eight-of-22 (36.4%) from long range along with 19-of-22 (86.4%) at the free throw line.

Five Bulldog players reached double-figure scoring in the triumph, which came on the heels of an impressive 98-83 regional home win over nationally-ranked Ashland on Sunday afternoon. For the second-straight game, junior Ethan Erickson paced FSU with 19 points.

The Bulldogs also got 15 points along with four steals and three assists from graduate senior Amari Lee in addition to 14 points, seven boards and six blocked shots by fellow senior Dolapo Olayinka., FSU's Jimmy Scholler added 13 points and Reece Hazelton tallied 10 points, six rebounds and four assists in the win.

Defensively, Ferris State held Cedarville to 34.2% shooting in the second half. CU finished 38.2% from the floor and 41.2% (14-34) from three-point range along with 16-of-18 (88.9%) at the free throw line in dropping to 7-5 overall this year.

The Bulldogs had only nine turnovers and came up with nine blocked shots and seven steals. FSU was slightly out rebounded 39-37, but Cedarville finished with 12 turnovers and was outscored 40-18 inside the paint by the Bulldogs. In addition, the Ferris State bench netted 61 points to 22 for the Yellow Jackets' reserves.

Ferris State will return to action following the holiday break by hosting Fanshawe on Dec. 29 and Kuyper on Dec. 30 in non-league home contests. Both outings are slated for 3 p.m. (ET) starts.