Ferris State Moves Into NCAA D2 Midwest Regional Semifinals For Third Consecutive Year

Postgame Highlights & Interview 
Postgame Radio Interview 
Postgame Press Conference 

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University men's basketball squad advanced to the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional Semifinals for the third year in a row as the Bulldogs avenged two regular-season defeats to conference rival Northern Michigan with an impressive 81-65 triumph over the Wildcats on Saturday (March 16) night in Indianapolis.

The Bulldogs went on an early 12-0 run to take control of the game in the opening half and held a 41-24 halftime lead. The lead grew to 20 points at 56-36 in the second half before NMU tried to make a charge, but the Wildcats could not pull back to single digits as Ferris State came away with the win.

With the win, the Bulldogs moved on to Sunday night's regional semifinals against top-seeded host Indianapolis with tipoff set for 7:30 p.m. (ET) at Nicoson Hall.

Ferris State shot 49.2% from the floor in Saturday night's opening-round win while limiting Northern Michigan to only 33.8% shooting, including a nine-of-31 (29%) effort from long range. FSU was six-of-21 (28.6%) from deep and 15-of-22 (68.2%) at the charity stripe with NMU making 12-of-15 (80%) free throws.

The Bulldogs got 19 points apiece from senior guard Ben Davidson and junior guard Ethan Erickson while senior forward DeSean Munson added 12 points overall. All 10 Bulldog players who saw action reached the scoring column.

Ferris State controlled play on the glass with a 44-35 rebounding margin and both teams netted 11 turnovers in the game.

The Wildcats got a game-high 24 points from standout Max Weisbrod, all of which came in the second half of play, and NMU's Sam Schultz added 14 points while Carson Smith scored 13 points.

The matchup pitted the GLIAC's regular-season champion in NMU versus the GLIAC Tournament Champion in Ferris State.

The Bulldogs improved to 26-7 overall this season with the triumph and NMU closed the year with a 22-11 overall record.

The winner of Sunday night's regional semifinal game between FSU and Indianapolis will advance to Tuesday night's regional final in Indy.

Sunday night's semifinal came be watched live via a pay-per-view webcast at NCAA.com. Additionally, the local radio broadcast will be carried live by Sunny 97.3 FM and the Bulldog Sports Network with online audio available at FerrisStateBulldogs.com.