2018 NCAA DIVISION II MEN'S BASKETBALL BRACKET
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- The top-seeded and No. 2 nationally-ranked Ferris State Bulldogs picked up a national semifinal victory today (March 22) at the 2018 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Elite Eight after taking down West Texas A&M by a final score of 85-79 on Heritage Court inside the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls.
FSU now advances to Saturday's (March 24) national championship game at 3 PM ET/2 PM CT live on CBS against third seed Northern State who survived Queens (N.C.) in a double overtime thriller. The Bulldogs picked up its 37th win of the year in the win and will attempt to become the second GLIAC men's basketball program to win the national title (Findlay 2009).
#1 FERRIS STATE DEF. #4 WEST TEXAS A&M, 85-79 | BOX SCORE
Ferris State took a six-point lead into the halftime break as the Bulldogs were up by as much as 11 in the first twenty minutes shooting 41.2 percent, while holding Texas A&M to 35.5 percent shooting. FSU also received 17 bench points in the first half and outmuscled the Buffs in the paint by an 18-8 margin. The Bulldogs extended their lead to as many as 17 in the second half before WTAM cut the deficit to just a couple before the Bulldogs made some free throws down the stretch to put the contest away. FSU was paced by a pair of double-doubles from Drew Cushingberry (16 pts, 10 reb, 5 ast) and Zach Hankins (13 pts, 11 reb, 3 blk). The Bulldogs limited the Buffs to just 35.2 percent shooting while the Dawgs fired 42.6 percent. FSU finished with a 38-24 points in the paint advantage and a 26-9 margin in bench points.
