BIG RAPIDS - The Ferris State Men’s Basketball team erased a 15-point halftime deficit to storm back and defeat Purdue Northwest in the opening round of the GLIAC Conference Tournament on Wednesday night.
The Pride led by as much at 17 points in the second half, but Ferris State used a massive 19-0 run midway through the second half to surge into the lead. Purdue would briefly re-take the lead at 56-55, before Ferris State took control of the game and salted it away.
In addition to the thrilling comeback win, the Bulldogs got a bit of unexpected good news after the game was over, when it was learned that top-seeded Wisconsin-Parkside had fallen to Michigan Tech, meaning that the Bulldogs will now host the Conference Championship semifinals and final on Saturday and Sunday respectively.
Solomon Oraegbu led the Bulldogs with 29 points. Dolapo Olayinka chipped in with 14, and Ben Davidson and Amari Lee had 11 points apiece.
Purdue Northwest was led by Alou Dillon, who scored 18 of his 21 points in a dominant first half. Mikell Cooper recorded a 17-point performance, while Kalil Whitehead scored 12 off of the bench.
Ferris State will now face Northern Michigan in a semifinal at 3:00 p.m. inside Wink Arena on Saturday. The other semifinal sends Michigan Tech up against Grand Valley State, who eliminated Lake Superior State on Wednesday night.
The Bulldogs, who have won four of the past six GLIAC regular season titles, will be seeking their first conference tournament championship since the 2017-2018 season, when Ferris State went on to claim the Division II National Championship.
