Huge Second-Half Lifts Ferris State To Regional Home Win Over Lewis

Highlights & Postgame Interview 

Big Rapids, Mich. - A big second half lifted the Ferris State University men's basketball squad to an exciting 97-73 regional home win over Lewis (Ill.) on Saturday (Dec. 31) as the Bulldogs closed out 2022 with their 10th win of the season.

Ferris State and Lewis battled back and forth early on with FSU owning a slim 47-44 halftime edge. The Flayers grabbed a three-point lead with 15:41 to play, but the Bulldogs seized control and eventually outscored the Flyers 50-29 over the second half to garner the win.

The Bulldogs nailed 14-of-29 (48.3%) three's in the game and shot 55.9% overall while going seven-of-nine (77.8%) at the free throw stripe.

A total of six Bulldog players reached double-digits with the duo of Ethan Erickson and Mykel Bingham both notching 15 points apiece. Erickson went five-of-nine from long range while Bingham added seven boards and played a key role on a short-handed Bulldog front line.

In addition to those two, the Bulldogs got 13 points each from Ben Davidson and Jimmy Scholler. Solomon Oraegbu added 11 points and Vejas Grazulis chipped in 10 points.

Ferris State shared the ball well again, generating 32 assists on 38 made baskets in the game. Amari Lee led the Bulldogs with a game-high 14 assists while adding seven points and six rebounds overall.

The Bulldogs owned a 35-29 rebounding margin and pulled down 10 offensive boards, leading to a 21-6 margin in second chance production. FSU also outscored the Flyers 20-11 in points off turnovers, limiting their own mistakes to only six for the game.

Overall, Lewis converted 48.3% of its field goals and went eight-of-23 (34.8%) from beyond the three-point arc along with seven-of-eight (87.5%) at the free throw line.

The Flyers were led by Beau Frericks with a game-high 26 points. Devon Vanderheydt added 12 points off the bench for Lewis, which dropped to 4-7 overall this season.

The Bulldogs, who are now 10-4 on the year, will play their final non-league game at home on Wednesday (Jan. 4) night versus Grace Christian at 7:30 p.m. (ET). FSU then resumes Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) play at home against Lake Superior State on Saturday (Jan. 7) at 7 p.m. (ET).