Ferris State Secures GLIAC Tourney Home Game With Win Over Parkside

Postgame Highlights & Interview 

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University men's basketball squad locked up a conference tournament postseason home contest by beating Parkside 82-79 on Thursday (Feb. 29) evening in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) action inside Jim Wink Arena.

The Bulldogs never trailed in the victory, jumping out to an early lead before holding on down the stretch for the triumph.

With the win, Ferris State secured a GLIAC Tournament Quarterfinal-round home game on March 6 as one of the league's top four seeds. FSU is now 21-7 overall and 11-6 in conference play.

The Bulldogs bolted out quickly and built a 14-point lead with seven minutes remaining in the opening half. FSU led 42-35 at the break, but was outscored 44-40 by the Rangers in the second half of play. UWP missed a potential game-tying three on its final possession and the Bulldogs grabbed the rebound to secure the victory.

Senior Dolapo Olayinka led the way for FSU with a game-high tying 21 points while adding nine rebounds in a near double-double effort. Junior Ethan Erickson connected on four three's and finished with 16 points while DeSean Munson totaled 10 points for FSU.

The Bulldogs shot 56.4% from the floor and went eight-of-15 (53.3%) from three-point range along with 12-of-16 (75%) at the free throw line.

On the opposite end, Parkside shot 50% overall and made 13-of-27 (48.1%) three's in addition to 10-of-14 (71.4%) free throws.

The Bulldogs were outrebounded 29-27 overall, but had only nine turnovers compared to 12 for Parkside, which led to a 15-9 edge in points off turnovers. Ferris State also recorded 11 steals and three blocked shots on the defensive end.

Overall, the Bulldogs' bench also tallied 47 points to only 15 for the Parkside reserves.

Parkside got 21 points from Colin O'Rourke along with 14 points and 10 assists from Josiah Palmer. Nick Brown chipped in with 13 points as Parkside dropped to 13-14 overall and 8-9 in league play.

Ferris State will close out the regular-season on Saturday (March 2) at home against Purdue Northwest. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. (ET) for the Senior Day game at Jim Wink Arena.