Ferris State Defeats Tech Men 63-51
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Ferris State (13-2, 9-0 GLIAC) | 26 | 37 | 63 |
|
Michigan Tech (9-4, 6-3 GLIAC) | 27 | 24 | 51 |
HOUGHTON, Mich. — No. 19-ranked Ferris State made the key plays down the stretch to defeat Michigan Tech 63-51 in GLIAC men's basketball tonight at the SDC Gym. The Huskies led 47-43 with 10:30 to play but went cold from the field the rest of the way.
Tech was still within 54-51 with five minutes to go and had three possessions to further cut into the Bulldogs' lead but could not.
FSU's Drew Lehman then hit back-to-back 3-pointers for a nine-point margin, and Tech was forced to attempt to score quickly. The Huskies missed four triple tries in the final three minutes.
"Credit goes to Ferris State for making the plays," said Tech coach Kevin Luke. "I didn't think we executed our offense very well all night, and we didn't get timely rebounds. We still had our chances to beat a good team here and didn't get it done."
Neither offense was sharp in the early going as the score was tied 7-all more than seven minutes into the game. Tech had a five-point lead at the 11:58 mark, and Ferris came back for a six-point advantage six minutes later.
The Huskies (9-4, 6-3 GLIAC) wound up 27-26 leaders at halftime.
FSU (13-2, 9-0 GLIAC) started the second half with a four-point possession after Luke Heller was whistled for a flagrant foul. Tech bounced back and had a 44-40 advantage on Ben Stelzer's lone 3-pointer of the game with 11:10 to play.
The visitors answered right back with a triple before Jordan Chartier hit his fourth trey of the contest for the 47-43 lead.
Stelzer had an open look to extend the margin to seven, but it rimmed out. The Black and Gold then missed four consecutive layups on a 9-0 Bulldogs' run.
Kyle Stankowski ended the drought with a layup at the 7:06 mark. Heller added another with 5:31 to play. Both scores pulled the home team back within three. Unfortunately for the home fans, Heller's basket represented Tech's final points of the night. The Huskies missed their final seven shots.
"We didn't screen very well, and we handed them the ball 10 times in the first half for layups," added Luke. "You're not going to beat a good club like Ferris doing those things."
Tech committed 13 turnovers in the game and had five fewer field goal attempts and 10 fewer free throw tries in the contest. FSU also held a 32-31 rebounding edge with eight offensive rebounds turning into 12 second-chance points.
Chartier paced the Black and Gold with 16 points. Stelzer finished with 11 points and a game-high five assists. Stankowski had nine points.
Lehman notched a game-high 18 points to lead Ferris.
Michigan Tech, which had its six-game GLIAC win streak snapped tonight, will try to get back in the win column against Grand Valley State on Saturday (Jan. 17). Tipoff is slated for 2 p.m.
