Ferris State Storms Back To Beat Purdue Northwest To Advance To GLIAC Semifinals; FSU Will Host This Weekend!

Postgame Highlights & Interview 

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University men's basketball squad overcame a 17-point first half deficit and stormed back to beat Purdue Northwest by a 79-69 score on Wednesday (March 1) night in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Tournament Quarterfinals held inside Jim Wink Arena.

With the win, the second-seeded Bulldogs advance to face third-seeded Northern Michigan on Saturday (March 4) in semifinal round action with the championship game on Sunday (March 5). Due to top-seeded Parkside's quarterfinal loss, the Bulldogs will play host to the semifinals and finals this weekend. FSU will play in the first semifinal game on Saturday at 3 p.m. (ET).

The Pride got off to a blazing start in the first half, shooting nearly 49% from the floor and knocking down nine three's in building a 17-point edge with just over three minutes to go in the stanza. They led FSU 43-28 at halftime.

However, in the second half, the Bulldogs rallied and made a historic comeback. FSU turned the tide by outscoring Purdue Northwest 51-26 over the final 20 minutes of action. Ferris State shot 52% from the field in the second half.

Sophomore guard Solomon Oraegbu helped fuel the Bulldog comeback, finishing with a game-high 29 points in the outing. He was one of four FSU players to reach double-digits as Dolapo Olayinka added 14 points with both Ben Davidson and Amari Lee netting 11 points each.

Ferris State held Purdue Northwest to only 26.7% shooting in the second half and the Pride made only two-of-15 (13.3%) second-half three's after shooting 47.4% beyond the arc in the opening period. PNW finished 38.1% overall from the floor and 32.4% from the three-point line, finishing 11-of-34 from long range. They also went 10-of-14 (71.4%) at the line.

Meanwhile, the Bulldogs converted at a 41.7% clip for the game and heated up in the second half. FSU was five-of-24 (20.8%) from long range, but did made 24-of-28 (85.7%) free throws.

The Bulldogs slightly outrebounded Purdue Northwest 40-38 for the evening and FSU outscored the Pride 11-5 on the offensive glass. The Bulldogs also outscored PNW 19-13 in points off turnovers and 30-26 inside the paint. Purdue Northwest netted 17 turnovers to 13 for the Bulldogs.

With the win, FSU improved to 23-7 overall this year.

Stay tuned for additional details and ticket information pertaining to the GLIAC Tournament. Tickets will go on sale Thursday at FerrisStateBulldogs.com/Tickets.

Below are the game times for the GLIAC Tournament at Wink Arena:

Saturday – Semifinals
3 p.m. - #2 Ferris State vs #3 Northern Michigan
5:30 p.m. - #5 Grand Valley State vs #8 Michigan Tech

Sunday – Championship
3 p.m.