Ferris State Falls To Preseason #3 West Texas A&M In Season Opener At D2CCA Tipoff Tourney

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University men's basketball squad fell to preseason nationally third-ranked West Texas A&M by a 79-65 score in the season opener on Friday (Nov. 1) evening in Canyon, Texas.

The contest took place as part of the season-opening Division II Conference Commissioner's Association (D2CCA) Tipoff Tourney and pitted two teams that both reached the NCAA D2 Elite Eight last season. FSU was ranked 25th in the National Association of Basketball Coaches D2 Preseason poll this year.

The host Buffs took a 40-33 halftime lead and outscored FSU 39-32 the rest of the way for the win on their home floor.

Newcomer Donovan Brown-Boyd led the Bulldogs with a team-high 15 points off the bench, going five-of-seven from the three-point arc. The Bulldogs also got 10 points apiece from senior transfer Kenny Turner and Nate Claerbaut on the inside. Senior guard Ethan Erickson and senior wing Deng Reng both had eight points each.

The Bulldogs were held to 40.4% shooting overall and an eight-of-25 (32%) showing from three-point range. FSU went 11-of-20 (55%) at the free throw stripe. Ferris State also had 18 turnovers compared to 11 for West Texas A&M and was outrebounded by a 42-36 count.

The Buffaloes were paced by Noah Pagotto with a game-high 21 points. Ahamed Mohammed added 16 points and Isaac Ayoubi contributed 10 points. WT finished shooting at 47.7% overall, but made only four-of-15 (26.7%) three's and only 13-of-23 (56.5%) free throws.

The Bulldogs will take on North Carolina-Pembroke to close out the D2CCA Tipoff Tourney on Saturday (Nov. 2) night starting at 7:30 p.m. (ET) in Texas.