Ferris State Earns Big Road Win Over Northern Michigan In Marquette To Close Weekend Trip

Big Rapids, Mich. - The 20th-ranked Ferris State University men's basketball squad came away with a win on Saturday (Feb. 15) as the Bulldogs closed a two-game trip to Michigan's Upper Peninsula with a 91-84 triumph over Northern Michigan at Vandament Arena in Marquette.

The Bulldogs took a 45-38 halftime margin in the game and fought back from a small second-half deficit before pulling away down the stretch for the hard-fought win.

The two teams had entered the game tied behind Lake Superior State and Michigan Tech at the top of the GLIAC standings and FSU moved a game in front of NMU with the triumph, earning a season sweep over the Wildcats.

Senior guard Ethan Erickson had a big day for the Bulldogs on the road, scoring a game-high tying 31 points on nine-of-18 shooting, including five-of-12 from three-point range. He also made eight-of-nine free throws.

Along with Erickson, fellow senior Reece Hazelton was big down the stretch for Ferris State and finished with 18 points in the win. Junior guard Tyler Hamilton added nine points off the bench.

FSU shot 54.9% from the floor and went nine-of-21 (42.9%) from three-point range along with 26-of-31 (83.9%) at the free throw stripe.

On the opposite end, Northern Michigan finished with a 43.8% shooting figure and the Wildcats made 13-of-29 (44.8%) long range tries along with 15-of-17 (88.2%) free throws in the high-scoring affair.

The Bulldogs outrebounded the Wildcats 36-29 for the day. Senior guard Jimmy Scholler led FSU on the glass with six rebounds while Erickson had five.

Northern Michigan also got 31 points from Dylan Kuehl in addition to 21 points by Gerald Gittens. However, the Wildcats got only nine points off the bench, all from Cal Klesmit, who made a pair of three's.

The Bulldogs improved to 21-6 overall this season with the win along with 11-5 in the GLIAC. NMU dropped to 16-8 overall and 10-6 in conference action.

Ferris State will return home for its final two home contests of the regular season, hosting Purdue Northwest on Thursday (Feb. 20) evening along with Parkside for Senior Day on Saturday (Feb. 22). Fans are encouraged to wear red on Thursday night for the school's annual Red Out event in support of women's heart health.