Men’s basketball drops first home game of season

Bulldogs fall to 18-3 after overtime loss against Michigan Tech

The Bulldogs overtime loss ends a 359-day streak of being undefeated at home Abe Kraus | Torch Photographer

A back-and-forth contest between No. 8 Ferris State and the Michigan Tech Huskies led to the Bulldogs suffering their first loss at home this season.

After trading blows in the first and second halves, it took an overtime period for the Huskies (13-5, 8-2 in the GLIAC) to pull away from the Bulldogs (18-3, 8-2 in the GLIAC) to cement an 88-85 loss for Ferris.

Both teams started the contest ice cold with neither team scoring until the 16:21 mark, when the Huskies finally broke the dry spell.

Michigan Tech was able to knock down a couple of threes and take an 11-point lead just under halfway through the first half.

Ferris continued to struggle until freshman guard Jaxson Whitaker subbed into the game, Whitaker made his impact felt immediately, hitting a three on his first possession down the floor.

Whitaker went on to total six three-pointers on eight attempts in the first half (75%). His three-point barrage helped the Bulldogs get back into the game and take a 39-35 lead going into the break.

This is Whitaker’s second straight game in double digits, and he has been a reliable contributor off the bench lately. The Muskegon native believes his teammates give him the confidence to perform off the bench.

“My guys get me open shots when they are taking away our other shooters,” Whitaker said. “My teammates encourage me every day and they don’t get mad when I take a shot, they trust me.”

The second half started strong for the Bulldogs as they quickly jumped out to a 10-point lead within the first five minutes.

Turnovers and defensive lapses let the Huskies back into the game though and Ferris failed to keep them away.

After being held to zero made shots from the field in the first half, senior guard Ethan Erickson began to have his shot fall in the second, scoring 13 of his 23 points in the second half and going a perfect 6/6 from the free throw line.

Erickson led Ferris with 23, and Whitaker followed with 19 points.

Michigan Tech began to pull away late in the game as they were up five with 1:18 left in the game. Key free throws and a costly Husky turnover allowed the Bulldogs to tie the game at 76 and send it to overtime.

After a slow start on offense in overtime, Ferris trailed 81-76 after two minutes of play. The deficit became too much to overcome, the Bulldogs had a chance to send it to double overtime but they fell short and dropped the game 88-85.

Head coach Andy Bronkema was happy with how his team fought but just did not make enough plays.

“That is a classic GLIAC game and we just happened to come out on the wrong side of it,” Bronkema said. “In a game like that with extra minutes, you have a lot of opportunities to make plays and we didn’t do enough of that.”

With this loss, Ferris loses sole possession of the top spot in the GLIAC, as they are now 8-2 in the conference.

The Bulldogs will return to action on the road, on Thursday, Jan. 29 against the Lake Superior State Lakers.