Ferris State Captures GLIAC Regular-Season Championship With Exciting Overtime Win In GLIAC Showdown

Postgame Celebration Video 
Walt Kelser Postgame Interview 
Postgame Interview & Highlights 

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University men's basketball squad captured the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Regular-Season Championship by registering a thrilling 76-72 overtime home win over Michigan Tech on Thursday (Feb. 24) night inside FSU's Jim Wink Arena.

The Bulldogs and the Huskies entered the matchup tied atop the league standings, but the Bulldogs found a way to prevail and clinch at least a share of the title heading into Saturday's regular-season finale.

Senior guard Walt Kelser fueled the victory for FSU with a game-high 32 points, which included a game-tying three-pointer in the closing seconds of regulation to force overtime after the Bulldogs battled back from a seven-point second-half deficit.

Kelser connected on all 12 of his free throw tries in the game and FSU went 23-of-25 (92%) from the stripe, which helped the Bulldogs overcome a three-of-15 (20%) performance from long range.

Along with Kelser, senior forward Dorian Aluyi posted a double-double effort with 14 points and 10 rebounds while making a pair of critical free throws late in overtime to push the margin to two possessions.

In addition to Kelser and Aluyi, the Bulldogs got 14 points off the bench from sophomore Ben Davidson to go with 10 points and seven rebounds from senior big man Logan Ryan.

The Bulldogs took a slim 25-22 halftime edge in a low scoring first half of play, but the Huskies responded in the second half behind the play of senior standout Owen White, who notched 24 points and pulled down eight rebounds. He was joined in double-figures by Adam Hobson with 14 points and Trent Bell, who recorded 10 points before fouling out of the game.

The Huskies shot 43.1% overall and went nine-of-25 (36%) behind the arc along with 13-of-16 (81.3%) at the free throw line. Overall, FSU shot 44.6% from the field.

Ferris State held a 34-30 rebounding advantage for the night and pulled down 12 offensive caroms. FSU also forced 18 turnovers and came up with 14 steals, including four from Kelser. Ryan added three blocked shots on the defensive end.

With the win, FSU improved to 21-6 overall and 16-3 in the GLIAC while MTU dropped to 19-6 on the year and 15-4 in conference play.

The win gave the Bulldogs their second GLIAC Championship in the regular-season in the past three years.

The Bulldogs will close out the regular-season at home on Saturday (Feb,. 26) against Northern Michigan starting at 3 p.m. (ET). FSU will recognize four seniors prior to the game inside Wink Arena on Senior Day.