March 7, 2025
Ferris State senior Reece Hazelton turns in big performance in possible last game at Wink Arena
Reece Hazelton and his Ferris State men's basketball teammates made big plays down the stretch in a 77-65 home win Wednesday’s victory over Wayne State University in what could have been his last game played in Wink Arena.
Hazelton scored 12 points and pulled down eight rebounds in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament quarterfinals win that advanced the Bulldogs to the semifinals at Michigan Tech University in Houghton. The team will face Lake Superior State University on Saturday, March 8.
"This is probably my last game in Wink Arena and, wow, Wayne State is a good team," said Hazelton, a 6-foot-6 forward from Glen Lake. "We just lost to them (83-75 in Detroit on Feb. 27). These emotions are always running high when you get into games like this in March. These games are a lot of fun and you know I'm an emotional person who likes to have fun out there."
After splitting the two-game regular-season series, Ferris State's big men stepped up the rubber match with the Warriors.
Ferris State won the first meeting in Big Rapids on Jan. 4, 82-65. In addition to Hazelton, the Bulldogs had a 12-point, six-rebound effort from 7-foot center Nate Claerbaut and a nine-point, seven-rebound, two-blocked shots performance by 6-foot-7 forward Mykel Bingham.
The Bulldogs outrebounded the Warriors 44-29 overall and 32-19 in defensive rebounds to improve to 25-7 this season.
"Our main focus coming into the game was defense," said Hazelton, who is averaging a career-best 9.8 points this season and 4.8 rebounds, which currently ties a career-high average. "In the last game against them, we fouled a lot, and we gave up a lot of offensive rebounds. In this game, we rebounded the hell out of the ball and played great defense. Offensively, we knew it would come even though we struggled in the first half before things opened a little bit."
Hazelton is a proud member of a distinguished senior class that includes 6-foot-6 forward Deng Reng, 6-foot-3 guard Jimmy Scholler, 6-foot sharpshooting guard Ethan Erickson and 6-foot-6 newcomer big man Kenny Turner, who has been battling injury during the second half of the season.
"It's just this senior group. We've won many games, and you know it helps to have that kind of experience," said Hazelton, who graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Finance from the College of Business in Spring 2024 and is pursuing a Master of Business Administration degree.
"And man, I just love this team. I don't even know what to say. I'm feeling a lot of emotion," he added after triumphing in an intense hardwood battle with Wayne State. It has been a great time, and we have a lot of basketball left to play. I appreciate the guys on this team so much."
The No. 3 seed Bulldogs will face the No. 2 seed Lake Superior State Lakers at 2:30 p.m. at MTU on Saturday, March 8. In the first semifinal, host and No. 1 seed Michigan Tech will face No. 4 Northern Michigan at noon.
The GLIAC Tournament championship game is Sunday, March 9 at 2 p.m. in Houghton.