March 6, 2025
Ferris State basketball teams advance to GLIAC semifinal round with victories in postseason openers
Both Ferris State University basketball team are advancing to the semifinal round of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament after impressive wins on Wednesday.
The men's basketball squad claimed a hard-fought 77-65 win over visiting Wayne State University. The third-seeded Bulldogs trailed by three points at halftime, but outscored WSU 54-39 in the second half to earn the victory.
The Warriors, who were seeded sixth, had beat the Bulldogs in Detroit in the final week of the regular season last Thursday.
With the win, the Bulldogs advance to semifinals on Saturday, March 8 in Houghton and face second-seeded Lake Superior State University starting at 2:30 p.m.
In Wednesday's win, the Bulldogs turned the ball over 10 times in the opening half but had only two miscues in the second half. After shooting 29.6 percent from the floor in the first half, the Bulldogs shot 61.3 percent in the second period.
Four Ferris State players reached double-digits in the contest, including three seniors. Guard Ethan Erickson, a Business Administration major, tallied 14 points while senior forward Reece Hazelton, a Master Business Administration major, notched 12 points and eight rebounds. The Bulldogs also got 10 points, nine boards, four assists and four blocks from senior Jimmy Scholler, a Finance major, along with 12 points and six rebounds in 19 minutes of work by junior Nathan Claerbaut, also a Business Administration major.
Along with the four in double-figures, the Bulldogs' Tyler Hamilton, a Marketing major, scored nine points as did junior Mykel Bingham, an Integrative Studies major, who also had seven rebounds, three assists and two blocks. Freshman Jaxson Whitaker, a Business Data Analytics major, added seven points and five boards.
The Bulldogs owned a 44-29 rebounding margin and finished with 12 turnovers compared to only four for the Warriors. FSU also had 11 blocked shots and four steals.
The loss spoiled a big game for WSU's Rob Lee, Jr., who finished with a game-high 31 points as the Warriors closed the year with a 15-14 mark. Carmelo Harris scored 14 points, all of which came in the second half.
With the win, the Bulldogs improved to 25-7 overall and kept their NCAA Tournament hopes intact after being ranked fourth in this week's Midwest Regional Rankings entering the game.
The women's basketball squad advanced after a 67-58 quarterfinal-round triumph over Roosevelt University.
The third-seeded Bulldogs claimed their 20th win of the year by beating the sixth-seeded Lakers and will now face second-seeded Northern Michigan on Saturday, March 8, in Allendale starting at 4:30 p.m.
In Wednesday's quarterfinal, Roosevelt jumped in front early as the Lakers scored the initial seven points of the game and held a 12-point lead midway thru the period before Ferris State trimmed the deficit to five at the end of the period.
The Bulldogs held a two-point halftime lead after outscoring Roosevelt 17-10 in the second period, but the game was tied heading into the fourth. In the final period, Ferris State pulled away for the win, totaling 19 points in the final 10 minutes to only 10 for the Lakers.
The victory snapped a two-game losing skid and avenged a regular-season setback to Roosevelt at Wink Arena.
Junior forward Mya Hiram, a Dental Hygiene and Public Health major, had a big night with a game-high 22 points in the win and added eight rebounds. Meanwhile, Optometry major Mia Riley totaled 17 points with 11 rebounds, five steals and four assists in the victory.
The Bulldogs also got 13 points and seven rebounds from senior Kenzie Bowers, a Master of Business Administration major, who tallied her 1,000th career point in the win. Junior Elle Irwin, a Business Administration major, chipped in with six points, four rebounds and four assists.
Ferris State shot 38.6 percent from the floor and went only five-of-22 from long range but did hit all eight of its free throws. Ferris State also forced 19 turnovers on the defensive end and outscored Roosevelt 16-3 in points off those mistakes. It also helped lead to a 15-5 margin in fast break scoring.
Ferris State improved to 20-10 overall this year with the win and kept its NCAA Tournament hopes alive with the victory.
The Bulldogs will play the second semifinal game on Saturday with top-seeded host Grand Valley State facing fourth-seeded Wayne State in the first matchup at 2 p.m. The championship game is on Sunday, March 9, afternoon at 3 p.m.