Ferris State men’s basketball defeated the Grace Christian Tigers of the National Christian College Athletic Association in an exhibition match at Jim Wink Arena on Saturday, Dec. 2.
The Bulldogs (5-1, 0-0 in GLIAC) are now 3-0 in the past five years against the Tigers (1-7, 1-3 in conference) with a 106-57 win. Ferris has scored more than 100 points in all three of those matchups against Grace Christian.
Head Coach Andy Bronkema shared why a big win like that was very important for the Bulldogs even in an exhibition game.
“We got to see a lot of younger guys play and if somebody goes down later in the season we can insert them into the rotation,” Bronkema said. “You can see they are talented, and I was proud of those guys for being ready and making some good plays out there.”
Right from the opening tip-off, Ferris used their size advantage to get easy looks as 34 of their first half points came from the paint. Because of the dominance inside they were able to kick it out to shooters who were able to knock down six threes in the first half. Leading the way was junior forward Reece Hazelton, who caught fire early, scoring 10 of his 18 points in the opening 10 minutes. Hazelton credits the explosive offensive performance to the unselfishness of every one of his
teammates.
“We shared the ball really well today which gave us all good looks,” Hazelton said. “We work really hard in practice, so we know if we get good looks they are usually going to fall.
The second half started off slow for Ferris as the Tigers got off to a quick 8-0 run, but were quickly shut down by the Bulldogs high pressure full court press which forced 14 second half turnovers. Coming off the turnovers Ferris was able to get everyone involved and get easy buckets to end the game with a 49 point victory. The Bulldogs featured 12 players in the scoring column seven of whom scored in the double digits.
One of the biggest storylines heading into the game was the return of junior forward Deng Reng, who after playing his entire freshman year and starting nearly every game has missed 50% of Ferris’s games with injuries.
“I’m just happy to be able to be back on the floor to help my team win,” Reng said. “I always try to do whatever my team needs me to do to win, whether that’s give energy, play defense or score.”
Reng started in his first game back since Dec. 31, 2022 and scored nine points in 14 minutes.
Bronkema was also incredibly excited for Reng’s return to the floor.
“He has got such a great spirit and to have him back is wonderful,” Bronkema said. “He was a great leader on the bench but when he is on the floor it brings it out a little bit more and just gives all the guys so much energy.”
Their 5-1 start has given them the number 14 team in the country ranking now heading into conference play. Last season the GLIAC featured three teams with more than 20 wins and 60% of the teams had a .500 record or above. To start this season, eight teams have a winning record entering conference play. Bronkema believes his team is ready for the gauntlet ahead of them.
“It’s a whole different animal and all the teams are off to good starts and have very talented players,” Bronkema said. “It’s a black and blue league starting next week which is during exams, but we are excited and are ready to take one game at a time.”
The Bulldogs will open GLIAC play with two games on the road facing Purdue Northwest on Thursday, Dec. 7 and Wisconsin Parkside on Saturday, Dec. 9.