Men's Basketball Falls 84-78 At No. 18 Ferris State

BIG RAPIDS, MICH. – The Northwood University men's basketball team dropped an 84-78 contest to Ferris State University Thursday night (February 22).

Northwood falls to 10-7 overall, 6-5 in the GLIAC. Ferris State, winners of 15 straight games now, improve to 15-2 overall, 11-0 in the GLIAC.

The opening half was close throughout, with neither team leading by more than six points. The Timberwolves held a 17-11 lead with 10:49 remaining in the half, but the Bulldogs finished strong to take a 39-34 lead at the break.  FSU shot 50.0 percent from the floor in the half (15-30) while Northwood finished at 44.6 percent (13-29).

Ferris State scored eight of the first 10 points of the second half to open up an 11 points lead.  The Timberwolves cut the lead down to four points at 56-52, but that is when FSU made the key run of the game. The Bulldogs scored 14 straight points to open up a 70-52 lead.  Northwood made it a game in the final minutes, getting within five at 79-74 with 43 seconds remaining. FSU made three of four free throws in the closing moments to earn the win.

For the game, Ferris State shot 53.4 percent from the floor (31-58). Northwood ended up at 46.9 percent (30-64).  The Bulldogs connected on 9-21 from 3-point range (42.9 percent), while NU ended up at 7-21 (33.3 percent).

Four Timberwolves finished in double figures, led by Will Bowles (East Detroit, Mich./South Lake). He ended up with 22 points and seven rebounds. Dylan Langkabel (Morristown, Ind.) ended up with his first career double-double, finishing with 18 points and a career-high 10 rebounds. Maurice Jones (Saginaw, Mich./USC) ended up with 16 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and a pair of steals. Jones scored his 1,000 collegiate point in the loss - he now has 1,005 points between USC and Northwood. Nick Spitzley (Pewamo, Mich./Pewamo-Westphalia) came off the bench to score 12 points.

Northwood will host Grand Valley State Saturday night (January 24). Game time is set for 6 p.m.