The No. 25 ranked men’s Ferris State basketball team splits a weekend trip at the season-opening DII Conference Commissioners Association tipoff tournament in Canyon, Texas.
In the first tournament game, the Bulldogs took on the No. 3 ranked West Texas A&M Buffaloes on Friday, Nov. 1, and fell by a score of 79-65. The Bulldogs bounced back with an 81-59 win versus the UNC Pembroke Braves on Saturday, Nov. 2.
The Ferris State men’s basketball team is fresh off a DII Elite Eight appearance and a 28-8 record in 2023-24. With many newcomers and players stepping into new roles, the Bulldogs look to repeat and even exceed their success from last season. Ferris has 12 of 19 rostered players from last season return for the 2024-25 campaign.
Tournaments like the D2CCA give the best teams in the country the opportunity to play each other, and junior center Nathan Claerbout believed these games help prepare them for the long season ahead.
“Playing against other great competition helps us get a feel of where we are as a team,” Claerbout said. “Getting prepared against this level of competition will pay off come conference play.”
In the season opener, Ferris took on the host team Buffaloes, who also made the DII Elite Eight last season.
The Bulldogs started slow, allowing West Texas to take a 13-3 lead after just six minutes of play.
Ferris played close for the rest of the half, bringing the deficit within one on multiple occasions, but were never able to take the lead and went into the half down 40-33.
The Bulldog failed to jump out in front in the second half, getting outscored 32-39 and ultimately dropping the season opener.
Ferris struggled from the field, shooting just 40.4% from the floor (23-57). The Bulldogs also lost the turnover battle 18-11, which hindered their ability to get back into the game after falling behind early.
Three Bulldogs reached double-digit scoring. Junior wing Donovan Brown-Boyd led all scorers with 15, Nathan Claerbout had 10 and senior big man Kenny Turner contributed 10, as well.
However, Ferris was able to bounce back the following day with a big win over UNC Pembroke. The Bulldogs got ahead early and never wavered, taking a 52-27 lead going into halftime.
Brown-Boyd said the main focus after the West Texas loss was to play more sound defense.
“We needed to fortify our defense and take away the easy buckets,” Brown-Boyd said. “We made it an emphasis to get back on defense and protect the rim.”
The Bulldogs controlled the game on the defensive side of the ball and held the Braves to just 29% (18-62) from the field and 27.3% (6-22) from the three-point line.
UNC Pembroke won the second half 32-29, but it didn’t matter as the Bulldogs had already built up a strong enough lead to close the game.
Ferris shot an improved 46.6% from the field (27-58) and was able to cut the turnovers down to 12.
Four Bulldogs eclipsed double-digit scoring in the win. Senior guard Ethan Erickson led with 20 points, junior forward Mykel Bingham had 13, junior guard Tyler Hamilton had 12 and Brown-Boyd finished with 11.
This was a milestone game for Erickson as he tied the all-time three-pointers made record at Ferris State with 240. He also surpassed the 1000 career point mark in this game.
Bingham filled up the stat sheet versus the Braves after he had just two points in the first contest. He led the Bulldogs in blocks with three and brought in six rebounds.
Bingham missed last season, and he is excited and grateful to return to the lineup.
“Sitting out a whole season makes people forget about you,” Bingham said. “It has been a blessing to be out here with the guys competing each week to reach the main goal, I couldn’t ask for anything more.”
This week, the Bulldogs will host the GLIAC-GMAC crossover event, facing off against Northwood on Friday, Nov. 8 at 7 p.m. and Lake Erie on Saturday, Nov. 9, also at 7 p.m. Last season, Ferris defeated Northwood and Lake Erie, scoring 94-59 and 80-76.