The Ferris State men’s basketball team moves on to the GLIAC tournament semi-finals.
The Bulldogs (25-7, 15-6 in GLIAC) took down the Wayne State Warriors (15-14, 11-9 In GLIAC) by a score of 77-65 to advance to the GLIAC tournament semi-finals versus the Lake Superior State Lakers.
After splitting the regular season series, the Bulldogs were able to walk away with the one that mattered the most.
The first half was a slow-paced, grind for both the Warriors and the Bulldogs as neither team was able to shoot over 30%.
However, Wayne State was able to grab a three-point edge 26-23 over Ferris due to forcing 10 turnovers in the first half alone.
Turnovers do not come at a scarcity for the Bulldogs as they average 12.2 per game on the year, but a rough first half with throwing the ball away forced Ferris into an early deficit.
In the second half, Ferris was able to cut the turnovers to a minimum. They turned the ball over just two times in the second half.
Senior guard Jimmy Scholler was happy with the way his team responded after giving the ball away 10 times.
“We always talk about being smart and aggressive,” Scholler said. “We were a little out of control in the first half and we were able to settle down and get the easy passes in that second half.”
A large reason for the Ferris victory was how they controlled the glass. In the loss to the Warriors just under a week ago, they were outrebounded 42-31. The best rebounding team in the GLIAC bounced back today on the boards and pulled in 44 rebounds compared to Wayne State’s 29.
Head coach Andy Bronkema emphasized how important rebounding was to his group.
“Rebounding was the biggest key to the game,” Bronkema said. “We needed to excel on the boards because we knew they were going to get to the line, when we win that battle we feel confident.”
The Bulldogs will head up to Houghton where the Michigan Tech Huskies will host the semi-finals and the finals of the GLIAC tournament.
Ferris will play Lake Superior State on Saturday, March. 8 with a chance to secure a spot in the GLIAC championship.