Ferris State Earns Win Over Ashland To Wrap Up Thanksgiving Classic At Wink Arena

Postgame Highlights & Interview 

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University men's basketball squad earned its fourth consecutive victory and capped off an unbeaten finish in its own FSU Thanksgiving Classic as the Bulldogs pulled out a hard-fought 75-69 win over Ashland in regional action on Wednesday (Nov 23) night at Jim Wink Arena.

Ferris State trailed by eight points with 16:29 to go, but ultimately outscored the Eagles 44-36 in the second half to garner the win, improving to 4-2 overall this year.

Junior guard Ben Davidson paced FSU with a game-high tying 15 points while adding five assists, four rebounds and four steals in the win. He led a trio of Bulldogs in double-digits with Solomon Oraegbu adding 14 points and Dolapo Olayinka scoring 11 points.

Ferris State forced 15 turnovers in the victory and limited its own miscues to only nine on the night. The Bulldogs also came up with 12 steals, outscoring AU 14-11 in points off turnovers in the game, which was tied six times and featured 10 lead changes.

Overall, FSU shot 45% from the floor and made nine-of-28 (32.1%) three's along with 12-of-17 (70.6%) free throws.

Meanwhile, Ashland connected on 40% of its field goals and went nine-of-22 (40.9%) from long range in addition to making 20-of-26 (76.9%) free throws.

The two teams both pulled down 34 rebounds in the game and FSU held a slim 10-9 edge in offensive boards. The Bulldogs also blocked five shots in the game.

Ashland was led by Brandon Haraway with 15 points while both James Manns and Victor Searls chipped in 13 points. Maceo Williams produced 11 points off the bench.

Following the contest, Davison was tabbed as the Ferris State Thanksgiving Classic Tournament MVP and was joined on the all-tournament squad by Oraegbu. The other members of the all-tournament team included Williams and Searls from Ashland along with East-West University's DeQuanniis Jackson and Kylan Shipp of Great Lakes Christian.

The Bulldogs will open Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) play at home on Thursday, Dec. 1, against West Michigan rival Grand Valley State inside Wink Arena.