Ferris State Competes Hard In Exhibition Setback To Michigan State At The Breslin Center

Postgame Interview - Coach Bronkema 
Postgame Highlights 

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University men's basketball squad battled hard, but fell short in a 85-67 exhibition setback at NCAA Division I Michigan State on Tuesday (Oct. 29) evening inside the Breslin Center in East Lansing.

The Bulldogs fought hard in the opening half and trailed 40-28 at halftime. FSU trimmed the MSU lead to eight points with 15:56 to go in the game and then cut the margin to five inside of 15 minutes to go before the Spartans responded and pulled away for the victory.

Ferris State was led by Mykel Bingham with 16 points, which was a game-high. Both Nathan Claerbaut and Tyler Hamilton added 11 points each in the setback.

"There were a lot of good things tonight and I like the fight our guys had," said FSU head coach Andy Bronkema. "We competed and battled, but it wasn't enough against a team like that. We're thankful to Coach Izzo and Michigan State for such a special opportunity."

The Bulldogs shot 41.3% form the floor and made eight-of-23 (34.8%) three's, but were out rebounded 45-32 by the bigger MSU lineup. The Spartans also held a decided edge at the free throw stripe where they made 22-of-28 (78.6%) tries.

Michigan State forced 18 FSU turnovers and converted those miscues into 24 points. It also helped lead to a 30-14 margin in fast break scoring in the contest.

The Spartans, who faced Ferris State for the fifth time ever, were led by Frankie Fidler with 14 points. Coen Carr added 12 points and Xavier Booker finished with 10 points.

For Ferris State, Claerbaut led FSU on the glass with seven rebounds. Both Reece Hazelton and Kenny Turner dished out three assists while Bingham came up with four steals and two blocked shots.

"There are some great things to build on from this game," Bronkema said. "The result wasn't what we wanted, but this contest was a great learning experience for our group and we're excited moving forward."

Ferris State entered the game ranked 25th in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II Preseason National Poll that was released earlier in the day.

The Bulldogs will head to Canyon, Texas, for the Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) Tip-Off Tourney on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 1-2. FSU will face host West Texas A&M in the season opener on Friday evening.