Ferris State Earns Decisive Home Win Over Purdue Northwest In 22nd Victory Of The Year

Postgame Interview 

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University men's basketball squad earned a decisive 86-55 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) home win over visiting Purdue Northwest on Thursday (Feb. 20) evening inside FSU's Jim Wink Arena.

The Bulldogs began their final homestand of the regular-season with the win, moving to 22-6 overall this year and 12-5 in the GLIAC.

The game was a defensive struggle early before the Bulldogs opened up the scoring and took a 32-20 halftime edge. In the second half, FSU outscored the Pride 54-35, pulling away for a commanding win while earning the season sweep over Purdue Northwest.

Freshman guard Jaxson Whitaker led a balanced effort with 16 points in the game while junior center Nathan Claerbaut had a solid all-around effort with 12 points, seven rebounds and a pair of blocked shots. Junior Mykel Bingham also reached double-figures with 10 points. Meanwhile, the trio of seniors Ethan Erickson and Reece Hazelton along with Donovan Brown-Boyd all finished with nine points and senior Deng Reng contributed eight points.

Ferris State shot 56% from the floor in the second half to finish at 42.6% for the night. The Bulldogs made seven-of-30 (23.3%) three's, but also went 21-of-24 (87.5%) at the free throw line.

On the glass, FSU dominated with a 54-32 rebounding margin, which included 18 offensive boards that led to a 19-5 edge in second chance scoring. The Bulldogs also held a 23-9 margin in fast break production and outscored PNW 38-16 inside the paint and 16-6 in points off turnovers.

Defensively, the Bulldogs held Purdue Northwest to only 31.7% shooting with the Pride managing to make only six-of-23 (26.1%) three's and nine-of-14 (64.3%) free throws.

Collin Albert led PNW with 13 points and Dalton Gayman added 10 points in the setback.

The Bulldogs will host Parkside in the final regular-season home game on Saturday (Feb. 22) inside Wink Arena starting at 3 p.m. (ET). FSU will honor five seniors prior to the game on Senior Day.