Ferris State Notches 20th Victory Of The Year With Road Triumph Over Panthers

Postgame Interview - Coach Bronkema 

Caledonia, Mich. - The Ferris State University men's basketball squad, which is ranked 16th nationally, notched its 20th victory of the year on Thursday (Feb. 6) evening as the Bulldogs recorded a 67-56 road win at Davenport.

The Bulldogs improved to 20-4 overall with the win, marking the 10th consecutive time not counting the 2020-21 COVID-shortened season in which FSU has won 20 games or more in a full campaign.

The Bulldogs built a 13-10 lead near the mid-point of the opening half and used a late first-half surge to take a 33-24 lead at the break. Neither team had led by more than four points until the final two minutes of the period.

In the second half, Davenport trimmed the margin down to three at one point, but FSU made enough clutch plays down the stretch to push the margin back to double-digits to seal the win.

Senior guard Ethan Erickson had 21 points in leading the Bulldogs, including a pair of late baskets down the stretch. He was the lone FSU player to reach double-digits, but a quartet of players each had eight points, including senior Deng Reng, juniors Nathan Claerbaut and Mykel Bingham along with freshman Jaxson Whitaker.

The Bulldogs forced 19 turnovers in the win and outscored DU 15-7 in points off turnovers while also notching nine steals.

Overall, FSU shot 37.5% from the floor and was eight-of-28 (28.6%) from the three-point line along with 11-of-15 (73.3%) at the foul stripe.

On the opposite end, FSU held Davenport to 35.7% shooting. The Panthers made seven-of-20 (35.0%) three's and were nine-of-17 (52.9%) at the free throw line. DU did hold a 44-38 rebounding advantage overall.

The Panthers were paced by both Matyas Vrabel and Joey Cabana with 10 points each as they fell to 5-16 overall and 1-12 in the GLIAC.

Ferris State moved back into a first-place tie atop the GLIAC following Thursday night's action with both Lake Superior State and Michigan Tech as all three squads are now 10-3 in conference play.

The Bulldogs will visit West Michigan rival Grand Valley State on Saturday (Feb. 8) afternoon for a 3 p.m. (ET) contest in Allendale.