Nation's #14 Bulldogs Beat Rival GVSU Before Large Wink Arena Crowd

Highlights & Postgame Interview 

Big Rapids, Mich. - The nation's 14th-ranked Ferris State University Bulldogs beat archival Grand Valley State on Saturday (Jan. 20) afternoon by an 86-73 score at Jim Wink Arena, securing a sweep on the day in the West Michigan rivalry matchup.

The Bulldogs claimed their 15th win of the season and took over sole possession of second place thus far in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) standings by emerging victorious over the Lakers. The win came on the heels of the FSU women's basketball squad's win over top-ranked GVSU in the opening game of the league doubleheader.

In the men's contest, Grand Valley State jumped in front early and led by as many as 10 points only five minute into the game before the Bulldogs battled back. FSU eventually took a one-point lead at 42-41 into the locker room at halftime and outscored Grand Valley State 44-32 over the final 20 minutes of action.

Junior guard Ethan Erickson again had a big day for FSU with a game-high 18 points, which included five-of-nine shooting from the three-point arc. He hit several timely three's for the Bulldogs that brought the near capacity crowd of 2,000 plus fans to their feet.

Meanwhile, senior DeSean Munson also came up with 17 points, including a few key dunks that ignited the crowd and sparked the Bulldogs. Senior Dolapo Olayinka added 14 points and senior Ben Davidson totaled 12 points as the fSU veterans led the way.

FSU also got an impressive all-around performance from junior Jimmy Scholler with a team-leading eight rebounds to go with nine points, five assists, three steals and a block. Olayinka registered four of Ferris State's 10 blocks in the game while senior Vejas Grazulis netted three blocks.

The Bulldogs finished shooting 52.5% from the floor and hit on eight-of-19 (42.1%) three's along with 16-of-24 (66.7%) free throws. The Lakers made 39.4% of their field goals and were four-of-24 (16.7%) beyond the arc along with 13-of-17 (76.5%) at the charity stripe.

Four Grand Valley State players reached double figures as both Britain Harris and Mason Docks notched 14 points apiece with Trevor Smith compiling 13 points and Ethan Alderink 11 points.

With the win, the Bulldogs are now 15-3 overall and 5-2 in conference play. GVSU fell to 7-10 overall and 4-3 in the GLIAC.

The Bulldogs will hit the road for a pair of conference doubleheaders next week at Wayne State on Thursday (Jan. 25) and at Saginaw Valley State on Saturday (Jan. 27).