Memorable Ferris State Men's Basketball Campaign Comes To Close In NCAA Tourney

Postgame Highlights & Interview 
Postgame Press Conference 

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University men's basketball squad saw its season come to a close on Saturday (March 15) night as FSU suffered a 81-79 setback to Missouri-St. Louis in the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional Tournament in Springfield, Ill.

The Tritons, who were seeded fourth overall, topped the fifth-seeded Bulldogs in the neutral site encounter to reach the regional semifinals.

The defending regional champion, Ferris State closed the year with a 25-9 overall mark. The game also marked the final contests for five Bulldog seniors who helped lead FSU to the NCAA Tournament each of the past four years.

In Saturday's matchup, UMSL jumped in front early and took a double-digit edge in the opening half. The Bulldogs eventually trimmed the margin down and tied the game up in the second half at 47 points apiece, but Missouri-St. Louis responded with an 11-3 run and pushed the advantage back to double-digits.

The game was not over, however, as Bulldog senior guard Ethan Erickson engineered a valiant FSU comeback and eventually helped Ferris State pull within a possession. However, UMSL closed out the game and held on for the win.

Erickson totaled a team-high 24 points in his final collegiate game while going five-of-nine from the three-point arc. Fellow senior Reece Hazelton added 11 points and a squad-high seven rebounds while junior Tyler Hamilton recorded 10 points in the game.

UMSL got 25 points from Matt Enright in the win. A total of four Missouri-St. Louis players reached double-figure scoring. Overall, the opposition shot 58.3% from the floor and managed to make eight-of-18 (44.4%) three's along with 17-of-24 (70.8$) free throws.

On the Bulldog end, Ferris State shot 46.8% from the field and made 13-of-27 (48.1%) three-point tries in addition to eight-of-12 (66.7%) free throws.

The Bulldogs were also outrebounded 31-29 for the game and UMSL's 15 turnovers were four more than FSU's total of 11 miscues.

Along with making the program's fourth-straight national tournament appearance, the Bulldogs also reached the NCAA Tourney for the ninth time in the last 11 years.