FSU Men’s Basketball At A Glance: The Ferris State University men’s basketball team will take part in the Cornerstone Raymond James Classic this Friday and Saturday (Nov. 21-22) in Grand Rapids, Mich. FSU is slated to face St. Xavier (Ill.) in Friday’s (Nov. 21) opener at 6 p.m. (EST) while host Cornerstone battles Michigan-Dearborn in an 8 p.m. tilt. Saturday’s (Nov. 22) consolation and championship games are at 4:30 and 6:30 p.m., respectively.

Two Sites: This weekend’s tournament will be held at two different locations due to the NAIA Region VIII Volleyball Tournament being held at Cornerstone this weekend. Both of Friday’s games will take place at Byron Center High School with Saturday’s action set to be held in the Bernice Hansen Athletics Center at Cornerstone University.

Directions: Byron Center High School is located on 84th Street. Follow U.S.-131 South from Grand Rapids and take the 84th Street exit to Byron Center West. The high school is located approximately two-three miles from the highway. Cornerstone University is located at 1001 East Beltline Avenue NE off of I-96.

Season Opener: Ferris opened its 76th season with a 76-63 non-conference setback at Lewis (Ill.) last Saturday (Nov. 15) in LU’s Neil Carey Arena at Romeoville, Ill. Senior guard Willie Thomas (Columbus, Ohio/Eastmoor Academy) led the Bulldogs with 19 points while junior guard Carlton Epps (Benton Harbor) chipped in 16 points. The Bulldogs led by as many as eight points in the opening half, but the Flyers were able to take a 42-36 halftime advantage and outscored FSU by seven points in the second half. Ferris dropped to 39-37 all-time in season-opening contests with the loss.

CMU Responds: The Bulldogs jumped out to a 12-point advantage only six minutes into their non-league contest versus NCAA Division I Central Michigan Monday (Nov. 17) 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. 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. FSU is presently 0-2 overall this campaign.

Last Season: Ferris State concluded the 2002-03 campaign with an 11-15 overall mark and a fourth-place 7-11 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) North Division finish. Both Ferris’ overall record and league finish represented the program’s best marks since the Bulldogs finished 21-12 overall and claimed the 1997-98 GLIAC Tournament championship.

The Bulldog Tradition: The 2003-04 campaign marks the 76th season of Bulldog men’s basketball. The program began in 1925 although Ferris did not field a team from 1942-45 due to World War II. FSU has compiled a 878-824 (.516) all-time mark. The Bulldogs have won nine GLIAC titles, made six NCAA Division II Tournament appearances and reached the 1988 NCAA-II Elite Eight. Ferris captured a league-record four consecutive GLIAC titles from 1986-90.

Head Coach Bill Sall: A 1994 Calvin graduate, second-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. The Zeeland, Mich., native served as Ferris’ interim head coach for a portion of the 1995-96 campaign and led the Bulldogs to a 5-8 mark. 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 MIAA championships, four NCAA-III Tournament bids and the 1990 NCAA-III Final Four. Sall has a current 16-25 (.390) career coaching mark. He is 6-18 (.250) on the road, holds a 2-1 (.667) mark in neutral site games and is 7-11 (.389) in non-league outings to date.

On The Road: FSU is 336-293 (.534) overall since 1980-81 and sports a 159-198 (.445) record in road/neutral site contests during that span. Ferris was 5-9 (.357) on the road last season.

FSU Picked Fourth: Ferris State was picked to finish fourth in the 2003-04 GLIAC North Division Preseason Coaches Poll. The Bulldogs totaled 17 points in the balloting by the GLIAC’s head coaches. Each of the league’s 13 head coaches ranked the teams in their respective divisions, but were not allowed to vote for their own team. Northern Michigan was selected as the GLIAC North Division favorite with five first-place votes and 35 total points while Findlay took the top spot in the South Division with 25 points and five first-place votes.

A Look At The Roster: Ferris’ 2003-04 roster includes two seniors, four juniors, two sophomores and seven freshmen. Eight of the 15 players are guards while the remaining seven are frontcourt players. Thirteen players hail from Michigan while two are from Ohio.

Between The Lines: “Between The Lines”, a weekly television program profiling Ferris State University Athletics, airs across northern Michigan on WFQX-Fox 33 every Saturday at 3:30 p.m. (ET). The 30-minute program is hosted by Phill Mooney and produced in the studios of the University’s cable Channel 7. FSU men’s basketball head coach Bill Sall will make appearances throughout the season. The show is also aired locally on the University's cable Channel 7 every Tuesday (7 p.m.) and Wednesday (8 p.m.).

A Look At FSU: Ferris returns seven letterwinners and four starters, including senior co-captains Willie Thomas and Nathan Wruble (Harbor Beach). The Bulldogs’ biggest loss was 6-10 center Adam Anderson, who is presently playing overseas in Egypt. The two-time team MVP earned All-GLIAC First-Team accolades last season after averaging a team-high 17.4 points per game.

Tough Road: Ferris is in the midst of a season-opening six-game road swing. Twelve of FSU’s first 13 games are away from home.

Bulldog Bites: Jeffery Shanahan scored a personal career-high 11 points and had a career-best seven boards at Lewis ..... Corey Epps notched his 400th career point and 150th rebound at Central Michigan ....... Willie Thomas is five points shy of attaining his 400th career point while Nathan Wruble needs five points to notch his 200th career point ....... Carlton Epps moved into a tie for sixth-place on FSU’s career steals leaders list at CMU. He has 112 career thefts to date and is 13 away from tying Dannie Hayes (125; 1991-95) for fifth place ........ Ferris’ 1-of-18 (5.6%) performance from the three-point line at CMU was its worst since going 0-for-7 (0%) in an 81-78 overtime win at Saginaw Valley State (1/25/01) ....... FSU has outscored its two opponents a combined 42-31 in the first 10 minutes this campaign. However, the Bulldogs trail 118-79 in the final 30 minutes of its two outings ...... Ferris had won four of its last nine meetings with CMU prior to Monday’s contest ........ The Bulldogs are shooting 36.1% (43-119) from the floor through two games compared to last season’s 46.4% (64-138) field goal percentage in the same span. Ferris opened the 2002-03 campaign with wins over Saint Joseph’s (Ind.) and Calvin ....... Three FSU opponents are ranked in the 2003-04 Basketball Times Preseason Division II Poll including Southern Indiana (3rd), Findlay (10th) and Cheyney, Pa. (16th).

Looking Ahead: Ferris State opens GLIAC action Thursday, Dec. 4, against Findlay at UF’s Croy Gymnasium in Findlay, Ohio. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. (EST). FSU will then visit Ashland Saturday, Dec. 6, for a 3 p.m. (EST) league tilt in AU’s Kates Gymnasium at Ashland, Ohio.

A Look At The Tournament Field:

St. Xavier: Ferris State and St. Xavier will meet for the first time this Friday. The Cougars, who were ranked ninth in the NAIA Division II Preseason Poll, are presently 2-1 overall this campaign after their 114-74 non-league home win over East-West (Ill.) University Monday (Nov. 17). SXU compiled a 30-7 mark a season ago and reached the NAIA Sweet Sixteen following a first-place 10-4 finish in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC). The Cougars are directed by seventh-year head coach Tom O’Malley. Their leading returning scorer from 2002-03 is senior guard Mark Telander (19.9 ppg), who was named to the Street & Smith’s NAIA Preseason All-America Team.

Cornerstone: FSU holds a 2-0 series edge over Cornerstone and posted a 73-68 home win in the last meeting (11/30/95) during Bill Sall’s stint as Ferris’ Interim Head Coach. The Golden Eagles are currently 4-0 overall this season and recorded an 80-79 home victory over Huntington (Ind.) last Saturday (Nov. 15). CU, which is coached by 11th-year head coach Kim Elders, advanced to the NAIA Division II Final Four last campaign while registering a 29-8 overall mark and a first-place 11-3 Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) finish. Cornerstone features one returning starter from 2002-03 in senior forward Keith Wurn (7.0 ppg). The Bulldogs won the only previous meeting in Grand Rapids, 89-80 (12/19/94).

Michigan-Dearborn: Ferris leads the all-time series 5-2 and defeated the Wolves 96-65 in the last series’ meeting (12/1/97) at Big Rapids. UMD is presently 1-3 overall after last Saturday’s (Nov. 15) 86-59 loss at Indiana University-Southeast. The Wolves, who are directed by eighth-year head coach Charles Turner, posted a 1-1 mark in last weekend’s (Nov. 14-15) IUS/Ramada Tournament at New Albany, Ind. An NAIA independent school, Michigan-Dearborn is slated to visit Grace Bible this Tuesday (Nov. 18) prior to participating in the tournament. Ferris is 4-0 (home), 1-1 (away) and 0-1 (neutral) versus UMD to date, but has dropped two of the last three meetings. UMB was 7-26 overall a season ago.