Ferris State Holds On To First Place Share In GLIAC With Big Road Win

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University men's basketball squad held on to a share of first place in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) standings as the Bulldogs battled to an impressive 72-58 road win over Lake Superior State on Saturday (Feb. 18) at Bud Cooper Gymnasium in Sault Ste. Marie.

Ferris State avenged an earlier loss to the Lakers in early January by outscoring LSSU 42-31 in the second half, moving to 21-6 overall this season. With the win, FSU remains tied with Parkside atop the GLIAC with two games to go in the regular season.

In Saturday's tilt against the Lakers, FSU sophomore standout Solomon Oraegbu tallied a game and season-high 38 points for the Bulldogs on 15-of-25 shooting along with a five-of-five effort at the free throw stripe. He was the lone FSU player to reach double-figures in the scoring column, but the Bulldogs got contributions up and down the lineup in the triumph.

Ferris State fell behind by nine points with 12:23 to go in the opening half before clawing its way back into the game and eventually grabbing a slim 30-27 halftime lead. The Bulldogs then got off to a strong second half start and stretched the margin in the second half while registering an important conference and regional road win.

Overall, FSU shot 40.9% from the floor, including a 50% figure in the second half, while sinking six-of-15 (40%) three's. The Bulldogs also went 12-of-14 (85.7%) at the free throw line.

Meanwhile, Ferris State held Lake Superior State to 30.9% shooting overall and LSSU finished only three-of-13 (23.1%) from long range. The Lakers did sink 21-of-27 (77.8%) free throws.

The Lakers, who entered the game only a game behind FSU in the league standings, were led by Kemon Bassett's team-high 21 points. Caden Ebeling chipped in with 16 points for LSSU, which fell to 11-13 on the year and 10-6 in the GLIAC.

Ferris State outscored LSSU 34-26 inside the paint and 15-9 on the offensive glass as the Bulldogs claimed a 45-37 rebounding edge overall in the victory.

The Bulldogs will visit Davenport on Thursday (Feb. 23) night and rival Grand Valley State on Saturday (Feb. 25) afternoon to close out league regular-season play.