MBB Game Notes: Lewis & CMU (Nov. 15-16)
* The Games: The Ferris State University
men’s basketball team officially opens the 2009-10 campaign
by visiting Lewis (Ill.) on Sunday, Nov. 15, for a 6 p.m. (CT)
non-league tilt in Neil Carey Arena at Romeoville, Ill. Then, on
Monday, Nov. 16, FSU travels to face NCAA Division I Central
Michigan in a non-conference contest at CMU’s Rose Arena in
Mount Pleasant, Mich., with tipoff at 7 p.m. (ET).
* Ticket Information: Tickets for both games will
be available prior to the contest. For more information on ticket
sales for the Lewis game, please call the LU Athletics Office at
(815) 836-5612. CMU’s Athletics Ticket Office can be reached
by calling 1-888-FIREUP-2. The Bulldogs will also have a fan
bus going to the CMU game for the first 30 to sign up.
* Media Coverage: There will be a live local FSU
radio broadcast for Monday’s game at CMU only on WBRN 1460 AM
& 107.7 FM with Rob Bentley handling the play-by-play action.
Live internet statistics and live video pay-per-view webcasts are
slated to be available for both games. Please visit FSU’s
Athletics Website at www.ferrisstatebulldogs.com
to find links for all available coverage in the “upcoming
events” tab.
* Follow On Twitter: Bulldog basketball fans can
follow all FSU games this year via Twitter. To access the service,
please visit www.twitter.com/ferrisathletics
to follow the tweet-by-tweet coverage with periodic scoring
updates.
* Last Time Out: Ferris wrapped up exhibition
play by limiting longtime West Michigan rival Calvin to only 29.7%
shooting en route to a 88-68 triumph over the Knights on Tuesday
(Nov. 10) inside the new Van Noord Arena in Grand Rapids. Ferris
held Calvin to only 19 total field goals and forced 14 turnovers
for the night while also shooting 50% (37-74) from the field in its
final exhibition contest. The Bulldogs scored the final four points
of the opening frame to take a narrow 40-36 halftime advantage and
proceeded to outscore Calvin 48-32 the rest of the way to grab the
win and finish exhibition play with a 2-1 mark. The Bulldogs had
five players reach double-figure scoring in the contest with senior
guard Josh Young pacing FSU with a game-high tying
19 points. Junior Justin Keenan chipped in 18
points in only 19 minutes of action while senior guard Jon
Yeazel added 14 points, including 12 in the second half.
Senior guard Austin Randel scored 13 points and
freshman forward Daniel Sutherlin also reached
double-digits with 11 points in the outing.
* Coming Up Next: Following the two games on
back-to-back nights, the Bulldogs continue a season-opening three
game road swing by heading to Saint Joseph’s (Ind.) on
Saturday, Nov. 21, for a 3 p.m. (CT) non-league game in Rensselaer,
Ind.
* The Records: Ferris State (0-0, 0-0 GLIAC)
recorded a 14-14 overall record during the 2008-09 season and
placed third in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
(GLIAC) North Division with a 12-10 league mark. Lewis finished the 2008-09
season with a 16-12 overall record and was 10-8 in Great Lakes
Valley Conference (GLVC) action.
CMU was 12-19
overall a season ago at the NCAA Division I level and posted a 7-9
mark in Mid-American Conference (MAC) competition to earn a share
of the league’s West Division title.
* The Coaches:
Ferris State –
Bill Sall (Calvin, 1994), 8th season, 106-108 (.495) –
(3-2-0 vs. Calvin). Sall was a two-time NCAA Division III
All-American at Calvin College from 1985-90 and previously held
assistant coaching positions at Calvin (1992-95), Ferris State
(1995-98) and Hillsdale (1998-02). He served as FSU’s interim
coach for a brief portion of the 1995-96 season.
Lewis – Scott
Trost (Minnesota-Morris, 1985), 4th season at Lewis, 51-36
(.586), 13th season overall, 204-122 (.626). Prior to arriving at
Lewis, Trost enjoyed a highly successful tenure at Illinois
Wesleyan, leading the club to three-straight league titles and four
consecutive NCAA-III Tourney bids. He also served four seasons as
head coach at Elmhurst and was an assistant at the University of
Michigan.
Central Michigan – Ernie Zeigler (Cleary College,
1994), 4th season at CMU, 39-54 (.419). Zeigler spent time as a
NCAA Division I assistant at Kansas State, Bowling Green,
Pittsburgh and UCLA prior to taking the CMU job. He also coached
overseas for three years and was a prep assistant at Detroit Cody
from 1990-96.
* Welcome Back: Ferris State welcomes back eight
letterwinners this season from a year ago. Included in the total
are two All-GLIAC picks in junior forward/center Justin
Keenan (first team) and junior guard Darien
Gay (second team). They helped form one of the
nation’s youngest teams as part of a nine-member freshmen
class two years ago.
* Preseason All-American: Ferris State junior
center Justin Keenan has been named a NCAA
Division II Preseason All-America selection by three different
sources, including being tabbed to the Division II Bulletin
“Super 16” Preseason squad. He also claimed acclaim
from both The Sporting News and Basketball Times. Keenan was
honored last season as a National Association of Basketball Coaches
(NABC) Division II All-Midwest District Second Team pick along with
a Daktronics All-Midwest Region Second Team and All-GLIAC North
Division First Team selection.
* FSU Wins Exhibition Opener: Ferris State opened
its 2009-10 exhibition slate by beating Aquinas 66-56 in a
preseason tilt on Oct. 29 at Greenville (Mich.) High School’s
North Gym. The Bulldogs led 29-23 at halftime and outscored the
Saints 37-33 in the final half. Four players reached double-figure
scoring with junior forward/center Justin Keenan
pacing the Bulldogs with a game-high 17 points and 14 rebounds.
Both junior guard Darien Gay and senior guard
Austin Randel chipped in 12 points apiece while
sophomore guard Dontae Molden totaled 11 points.
The contest marked the return of Bulldog junior guard Matt
DeHart to his hometown for the game.
* FSU Falls At Dayton: Ferris State battled the
preseason nationally-ranked Dayton Flyers tough for most of the
night, but came out on the short end of a 88-73 exhibition decision
in its second preseason outing on Nov. 3 at the historic University
of Dayton Arena in Dayton, Ohio. An announced crowd of 11,169 fans
watched the Flyers take a 48-35 halftime edge. The Bulldogs
whittled the lead down to 10 points with 4:38 to play, but could
get no closer. The Bulldogs had three players reach double-figure
scoring. Junior forward/center Justin Keenan, a
preseason NCAA Division II All-American, paced Ferris with a
game-high 25 points and eight rebounds. Senior guard Austin
Randel added 22 points and junior guard Darien
Gay chipped in with 10 points for FSU. Dayton is currently
ranked 21st in the Division I Associated Press preseason poll along
with 22nd in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll.
* Good Exhibition Mark: With two exhibition wins
this season, the Bulldogs have now claimed a victory in four of
their last five preseason tilts going back ot last year. FSU had
won three consecutive exhibition games prior to the loss at Dayton.
Last year, the Bulldogs defeated Cornerstone 74-73 (10/30/08) and
Calvin 80-66 (11/11/08) in home exhibition games at FSU’s Jim
Wink Arena with the third victory coming in this year’s
exhibition opener against Aquinas and the fourth in this
year’s triumph at Calvin.
* Looking At Lewis: The Flyers finished the
2008-09 season with a 16-12 overall record and was 10-8 in Great
Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) action. Fourth-year head coach Scott
Trost welcomes back three starters and eight letterwinners from
last campaign. Junior guard Dennis Thomas is the team’s top
returning scorer after averaging 10.2 points per game last
campaign, which ranked third on the team behind two 1,000-point
career scorers who have since moved on. The Flyers topped NCAA
Division I Illinois-Chicago by a 66-55 count in their final
exhibition game on Tuesday (Nov. 10) after losing a pair of earlier
exhibition games versus NCAA-I schools at Notre Dame, 70-54, and
Bradley, 68-63.
* Looking At CMU: CMU was 12-19 overall a season
ago at the NCAA Division I level and posted a 7-9 mark in
Mid-American Conference (MAC) competition to earn a share of the
league’s West Division title. The Chippewas are the favorites
to win the MAC West again this year and return 46 percent of their
points scored and 36 percent of their rebounding from a season ago.
Three starters are also back. CMU posted two convincing exhibtion
wins over Marygrove (85-38) and Indiana-South Bend (70-42) at Rose
Arena.
* FSU Picked Second: Ferris was picked to finish
second in the 2009-10 GLIAC North Division Preseason Media Poll in
conjunction with the league’s annual media day
teleconference. The Bulldogs totaled 107 points in the balloting
and picked up two first-place votes while finishing second in the
North Division. Grand Valley State earned 17 of a possible 24
first-place votes and led the division with 130 points. Defending
NCAA Division II National Champion Findlay earned 22 first-place
votes in being selected the South Division favorite by a group of
24 media members.
* Preseason Honorees: Ferris had two of the five players
named to the 2009-10 GLIAC North Division Preseason All-Conference
Team as chosen by the league’s head coaches. Both
Justin Keenan and Darien Gay were
on the five-member team. Keenan was a first-team all-league pick
last season while Gay claimed All-GLIAC North Division Second Team
kudos.
* Last Season: FSU finished 14-14 overall and
placed third (12-10) in the GLIAC North Division last season. In
2008-09, Ferris also made its 10th GLIAC Postseason Tournament
appearance and fourth in the last five years. Last year represented
the seventh consecutive year the Bulldogs had won 10 or more games
under head coach Bill Sall after the program had
not done so in the four years prior to his arrival.
* The Bulldog Roster: Ferris’ current
2009-10 roster includes three seniors, four juniors, two sophomores
and four freshmen. Eight of the 13 players are guards while the
remaining five are frontcourt players. All 13 players on the
Bulldogs’ roster hail from Michigan.
* Home Opener: The Bulldogs’ 2009-10 home
opener at FSU’s Jim Wink Arena in Big Rapids will be on
Monday, Nov. 30, when archrival Grand Valley State comes to town
for an 8 p.m. (ET) tilt. The contest will also mark Ferris’
initial GLIAC encounter.
* Two Make Debut: The Bulldogs have utilized only
two new players in the three exhibition games, which include
freshman forward Daniel Sutherlin
(Detroit/Renaissance) and senior guard/forward Jon
Yeazel (Middleville/Thornapple-Kellogg). Yeazel is a
former Division I transfer from CMU, who redshirted at FSU last
season.
* Head Coach Bill Sall: A 1994 Calvin graduate,
eighth-year FSU head coach Bill Sall previously
held assistant coaching positions at Calvin (1992-95), Ferris State
(1995-98) and Hillsdale (1998-02) prior to being named Ferris
State’s 11th head coach. Before joining the coaching ranks,
Sall was a standout player at Calvin from 1985-90. He twice
(1989-90) received second-team National Association of Basketball
Coaches Division III All-America honors and led Calvin to three
Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAA) championships,
four NCAA-III Tournament bids and the 1990 NCAA-III Final Four.
* FSU History: Ferris State’s impressive
basketball tradition includes 11 GLIAC titles, eight NCAA Division
II Tournament appearances and a berth in the 1988 NCAA-II Elite
Eight. Ferris, which last won the GLIAC Tournament championship
during the 1997-98 campaign, captured a league record four
consecutive conference titles from 1986-90.
* Great Run: Ferris won back-to-back GLIAC North
Division crowns under Bill Sall in 2003-04 and
2004-05 while reaching the NCAA-II Tournament in both 2004-05 and
2005-06. FSU advanced to the NCAA-II “Sweet Sixteen”
during the 2004-05 season, which was Sall’s third season at
the helm.
* Turnaround Time: The Bulldogs had posted only a
21-82 (.204) mark in the four seasons prior to head coach
Bill Sall's arrival, but have since went 101-100
(.501) and claimed two divisional titles while making two NCAA-II
Tournament appearances in his seven previous seasons at the helm.
FSU won only four games (4-22) the year before Sall arrived in
2001-02.
* Career Milestones: Ferris’ Justin
Keenan enters the season needing only 15 points to become
the 26th player in school history to register 1,000 career points.
He’s eight rebounds shy of notching his 400th career board
...... Senior guard Josh Young is three points
away from recording his 400th career point after ranking second
among the squad’s scoring leaders at 14.2 points per game
last year ....... Senior guard Austin Randel needs
20 points to notch his 200th point. He averaged 20.7 points per
game in 2007-08 at NCAA-II North Greenville (S.C.) before
transferring to FSU.
* Season Openers: Ferris will officially open its
82nd season against Lewis. The Bulldogs, who have won four of their
last 13 openers, currently hold a 40-41 all-time record in opening
day contests. Last season (11/15/08), FSU dropped a 72-57
non-league road decision at Northern Kentucky. In 2000-01, Ferris
toppled NCAA-I Oakland (11/21/00) 75-70 on opening day for its
first opening day road victory since the 1987-88 campaign and one
of only two FSU season-opening road wins in the last 20 years along
with ‘02-03.
* FSU vs. Lewis: Ferris State and Lewis will
square off for the 11th time Sunday with the Flyers holding a 7-3
series’ advantage. Lewis has won seven of the last nine
encounters to date, but FSU posted a convincing 88-59 victory in
the most recent game during the 2004-05 season in Big Rapids
(12/30/04). The Flyers recorded a 76-63 win in the last meeting
(11/15/03) played at Romeoville, Ill. Ferris head coach
Bill Sall owns a 1-2 career coaching mark versus
Lewis.
* The Last Meeting: Ferris recorded its fourth
consecutive victory with an 88-59 non-conference win over visiting
Lewis (Ill.) in the last meeting between the two teams (12/30/04)
at FSU’s Jim Wink Arena. Senior guard Carlton Epps (Benton
Harbor) hit six three-pointers and tallied a game-high 22 points as
the Bulldogs improved to 10-2 overall. Ferris sprinted out to a
44-24 halftime advantage and outscored the Flyers 44-35 in the
final frame. FSU shot 55.9% (33-59) from the floor for the game and
was 17-of-26 (65.4%) in the second half. Ferris also sank 14-of-26
(53.8%) three-point tries and made eight-of-13 (61.5%) free throw
attempts. The Bulldogs eventually went on and reached the NCAA-II
Sweet Sixteen in 2004-05.
* FSU vs. CMU: CMU holds a commanding 64-21 edge
entering Monday’s 86th series contest. The two teams last
played during the 2003-04 season, when the Chippewas won 73-58 at
Rose Arena. That game counted as a regular-season outing for FSU
and an exhibition contest for CMU per NCAA rules regarding the
season’s official start date. The 2003-04 meeting was the
first matchup between the two squads since the Chippewas 79-53 home
victory in 1990-91 (12/3). Ferris has won two of the last seven and
four of the previous 10 meetings overall.
* Ferris vs. CMU Series Notes: Former Chippewa
player Sean Waters led CMU with 12 points in the 1990 meeting
(12/3/90). He is the son of former Bulldog player and assistant
coach Gary Waters, who now serves as the head men’s
basketball coach at Cleveland State University and guided the
Vikings to an NCAA Tournament appearance last year .......
Monday’s game will be only the second regular-season tilt
between the two schools in the last 33 years. Prior to the 1990
meeting, the two teams had not faced each other since FSU posted a
72-69 home win on Dec. 8, 1976. The 6,150 fans who attended the
contest at the Ferris Fieldhouse (later known as Jim Wink Arena) in
Big Rapids in 1976 is the largest crowd ever to witness a Bulldog
home basketball game ...... The Ferris-CMU series dates back to
1925-26 when the Bulldogs picked up a 25-23 win.
* The Last Meeting: The Bulldogs jumped out to a
12-point advantage only six minutes into their non-league contest
versus NCAA Division I Central Michigan (11/17/03) before the
Chippewas responded to post a 73-58 win in CMU's Rose Arena at Mt.
Pleasant, Mich. The contest, which was played as a regular-season
game for Ferris and an exhibition outing for CMU per NCAA
regulations, represented the first meeting between the two schools
since the 1990-91 campaign. Bulldog junior guard Corey Epps (Benton
Harbor) led the way with 12 points, freshman forward Terrance Shaw
(Saginaw/Bridgeport) added 11 points while sophomore forward
Jeffery Shanahan (Flint/Kearsley) and sophomore guard Dennis
Springs (Toledo, Ohio/Scott) both chipped in 10 points for FSU.
* FSU vs. Division I - Bill Sall Era: Besides the
exhibition outing at Dayton (Ohio) this season, the Bulldogs have
played several other Division I foes under head coach Bill
Sall .......... Ferris squared off against the Michigan
Wolverines in a historic first-ever meeting between the two teams
in an exhibition game two years ago (11/1/07), but dropped a 78-40
decision at Crisler Arena in Ann Arbor, Mich. A crowd of 7,489
watch the first-ever matchup between the two schools in FSU's
82-year history of men's basketball and the contest also marked the
debut for then first-year Michigan head coach John Beilein ......
In 2006-07, the Bulldogs dropped a pair of exhibition games to NCAA
Division I schools. FSU fell at Toledo (Ohio) in its exhibition
opener 97-71 before dropping a 68-53 decision at the University of
Detroit Mercy ......... The Bulldogs narrowly suffered a 67-55
non-conference regular season decision in 2005-06 versus Toledo in
UT's Savage Hall at Toledo, Ohio ......... In 2003-04, the Bulldogs
dropped a 73-58 decision to Central Michigan in CMU’s Rose
Arena at Mt. Pleasant, Mich. That contest was played as a
regular-season game for Ferris and an exhibition outing for CMU per
NCAA regulations involving the season's official starting date
....... Ferris’ last win over a NCAA Division I school came
in 2000-01 (11/21) when the Bulldogs defeated Oakland by a score of
75-70 in regular- season action at Rochester, Mich.
* Sall On Winnning Side: Ferris State head coach
Bill Sall continued his recent success in the
Ferris-Calvin series’ with Tuesday’s exhibition
triumph. Sall, who was a two-time NCAA Division III All-American as
a standout player at Calvin from 1985-90, has been involved in 13
Calvin-Ferris regular-season meetings while emerging victorious 10
times. He led the Knights to three victories as a player (1987-90)
and recorded a 2-1 mark as a Calvin assistant coach (1992-95)
against the Bulldogs. Sall also helped guide FSU to a 2-1 ledger
during his initial Bulldog coaching stint from 1995-98 and is 3-1
versus the Knights since returning as Ferris’ head coach in
regular-season play. The Bulldogs are also 2-0 under Sall in
exhibition outings versus Calvin.
* More On Keenan: A preseason All-America pick,
Justin Keenan led the GLIAC in scoring (20.2 ppg.)
while ranking second in offensive rebounds (3.4 rpg.), fourth in
rebounding (7.3 rpg.) and fourth in field goal percentage (.546)
last year. He also made and attempted more free throws (180-237)
than any other player in the league last season. Keenan reached
double-figure scoring in 24 of his 25 games and totaled 20 points
or more in 14 outings a year ago, including a career-high 33 points
versus Olivet (Nov. 25), en route to earning team MVP honors for
the second-straight year. In 55 career contests to date, Keenan has
recorded 985 points and 392 rebounds while starting 52 games. His
347 made free throws (347-449) currently ranks sixth on the
school's career leaders list while he needs only 15 more points to
become only the 26th player in Ferris history to score more than
1,000 career points. Keenan's current .543 (317-584) field goal
percentage figure is tied for 10th place on FSU's career chart.
* A Familiar Foe: FSU senior guard Jon
Yeazel will face a familiar foe in Central Michigan. The
6-2 Yeazel spent both the 2005-06 and 2007-08 campaigns at CMU
before transferring to FSU. He appeared in all 28 games and made
two starts for the Chippewas as a freshman in 2005-06, but did not
see game action in ‘07-08. He averaged 2.3 points and 1.2
rebounds in his initial year with CMU, including two double-figure
scoring efforts. The Thornapple-Kellogg High School product also
competed at Schoolcraft Community College the year between his two
stints at Central Michigan (2006-07) and redshirted for the
Bulldogs last year.
* Notes On Darien Gay: FSU junior guard Darien
Gay was an All-GLIAC North Division Second Team pick last year and
one of five players named to this year’s preseason
all-conference team. The 5-10 Gay was the team's third-leading
scorer (11.1 ppg.) and had 17 double-figure scoring performances in
28 games last year. Gay's 47 percent (54-115) shooting effort
behind the three-point stripe ranked as the seventh-best seasonal
mark in FSU history. He ranked second in the league behind teammate
Donte Molden in assists (4.4 apg.). He was also
second in steals (1.8 spg.) and fourth in three-point percentage
(.470) among the GLIAC leaders. Gay placed first in the conference
in assist to turnover ratio (2:1).
* Molden Paced GLIAC: Ferris sophomore guard
Dontae Molden led the GLIAC with 132 assists (4.7
apg.) last year, which represented the 11th-best figure in school
single-season history. The 2008-09 team Defensive MVP also had 177
(6.3 ppg.) points and added 76 rebounds (2.7 rpg.) in 28
appearances his rookie year, including 23 starts. The Detroit
Pershing prep product compiled seven double-figure scoring contests
and tallied six assists or more in 12 games. Molden was seventh in
steals (1.7 spg.) in the GLIAC.
* The Coaching Staff: The Bulldog coaching staff
includes top assistant coach Cory Anderson, who
played for Ferris from 1996-98, and is in his 11th season as a
full-time assistant. Volunteer Assistant Coach Bill
Killian also returns for his eighth season on Sall’s
staff. Former Cornerstone University standout Andy
Bronkema, who teaches at Big Rapids’ Crossroads
Charter Academy, is in his third season as a volunteer assistant at
FSU while longtime collegiate head coach Ed Douma
joins the staff for the first time this year as a volunteer after
former volunteer assistant coach Dave Schlump departed to become
the head coach at Muskegon CC.
* Douma Joins Staff: Longtime college basketball
coach Ed Douma has joined the Bulldog staff for
the 2009-10 season. Douma most recently served as head coach at
GLIAC-member Hillsdale for nine years until 2007. His experience
includes 33 years as a head coach at the collegiate level,
including at his alma mater, Calvin College (NCAA-III), where he
guided the Knights to the NCAA-III National Championship in
1991-92. He has also served as head coach at Alma College
(NCAA-III), fellow GLIAC member Lake Superior State (NAIA), Kent
State (NCAA-I) and the University of North Carolina-Greensboro
(NCAA-III). Douma owns a career mark of 561-295 and also won two
MHSAA Class C State Championships at Shelby High School. FSU head
coach Bill Sall played for Douma at Calvin and
also served as one of his assistant coaches at both Calvin and
Hillsdale.
