Ferris extends home conference winning streak
Jim Wink Arena continues to treat the men’s basketball team well as Ferris collected a pair of wins against Northwood and Lake Superior State last week, Feb. 14 and 16 respectively.
The victory against Lake Superior State was the 10th win in a row against conference opponents at home for the Bulldogs. Sophomore guard Dietrich Lever said, “It’s our home court with the home fans. These are the rims we shoot on every day; we need to protect our home.”
Senior forward Daniel Sutherlin was hampered by injuries for Ferris ,but senior guard Kenny Brown picked up the slack by scoring a team-high 20 points. Ferris took a 41-26 lead into halftime and never looked back, as Lever added 19 points and seven assists en route to an 83-71 Bulldog victory.
Against Lake Superior State, a different player stepped up for the Bulldogs, as freshman guard Josh Fleming scored a career-high 20 points and shot a perfect four for four behind the arc. Although the Lakers held a three point edge at halftime, Ferris would outscore them by a 35-23 margin in the second half to get a win by a score of 63-54.
Next on tap for the Bulldogs is a rematch of the double overtime thrilling victory for the Bulldogs, as they travel to Wayne State Feb. 21.
Lady Bulldogs improve to 12-7 in GLIAC play
The Ferris Lady Bulldogs also had contests against Northwood and Lake Superior State and earned the same result as the men.
After winning both of their weekend games, Ferris now holds fourth place in the GLIAC North Division. They trail Grand Valley State by one game for third place. Defense was important for the Bulldogs against Northwood, as they held the Timberwolves to 34.5 percent from the field. A second-half spurt began after a Timberwolf turnover that Ferris redshirt freshman guard Katie Mavis used to score a three-pointer and break a 41-41 tie.
The spurt spanned 16 minutes as Ferris outscored Northwood 24-10 and went on to win the game by a final score of 69-57. Ferris junior guard Sarah DeShone had a game-high 25 points in the Bulldog victory.
Ferris went on to defeat Lake Superior State by the same margin, 12 points, with a final score of 72-60 Feb. 16. Mavis sank a game-high 19 points and junior forward Ashley Rando aided the Bulldogs with 16 points to take the Lakers out of the game. The win was Ferris’ third in a row after recently ending a four-game losing streak. The Bulldogs look to continue their recent success as they travel to Wayne State for an impact game in the GLIAC North Division on Feb. 21.
“There’s three games left so we want to win out,” Rando said, “We want to make it to the tournament for the seniors.”
Preparing for the GLIAC Championships
The men’s and women’s track and field teams traveled to Grand Valley State for their last “Tune-Up” before the GLIAC Championships. On the women’s side, Ferris had three first-place finishers. Ferris sophomore sprinterShea Van Klompenberg won the 400 meter run, while senior distance runner Anna Rudd represented the Bulldogs at the top of the podium in the women’s mile run. Ferris junior thrower Jessica Piling was the third to bring home gold by winning the shotput event. Meanwhile, freshman thrower Ali Busick managed to capture sixth place for the Bulldogs. Ferris’ women runners also had a standout performance at the meet. The sprinters sophomores Gabby Baur and Van Klompenberg and freshmen Rachel Wood and Shaleen Williams arrived in time for fourth place in the 4×400 meter relay.
Senior distance runners Ryan Chute and Alex Bladecki, plus sophomore distance runner Andrew Harper, finished in fourth, sixth and seventh respectively in the 3000 meter run. The men’s 4×400 meter relay managed to finish in fifth place.
Ferris’ track teams look forward to the indoor season’s last meet at the GLIAC Championships Feb. 23-24 at Grand Valley State.
Bulldog named a finalist for the Senior CLASS Award
Ferris senior left wing and captain Kyle Bonis joined nine other student athletes as a finalist for the Senior CLASS Award, which is awarded to seniors that excel both on and off the ice.
The award is given to a senior who shows excellence in the following four areas: Community, classroom, character and competition. Fan votes will be combined with media and NCAA Division I hockey head coaches to determine who deserves the award. The selection will be announced during the 2013 NCAA Division I Frozen Four on April 11 and 13 at Pittsburgh.
Bonis was voted as a team captain this season and holds a 3.43 grade point average. He is expected to graduate in May of 2013. Bonis has played in 131 career games for the Bulldogs while tallying 45 goals along with 29 assists for 74 career points. Bonis currently leads Ferris with a team high in goals (17) and points (24) along with seven power play goals that tie him for fifth in the nation, according to U.S. College Hockey Online.
Bonis and the rest of the Bulldogs have a bye week ahead before they travel to Ann Arbor to take on the Michigan Wolverines in Ferris’ final two Central Collegiate Hockey Association regular season games.