FSU Men’s Basketball At A Glance: The Ferris State University men’s basketball team will host Calvin in non-conference action Tuesday, Nov. 23, at FSU’s Jim Wink Arena in Big Rapids, Mich. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. (EST). Ferris will then visit California (Pa.) Saturday, Nov. 27, for a 3 p.m. (EST) non-league contest at California, Pa.

Ticket Info: Individual game tickets to FSU regular-season home basketball games can be obtained at the door or by calling the Bulldog Athletics Ticket Office at (231) 591-2888. Adult tickets are $7 and student tickets are $5. A family pass can be purchased for $15. Ferris State faculty/staff ticket prices are $5. FSU students are admitted free of charge by showing their student identification card.

Ferris Wins Again: Ferris State senior guard Corey Epps (Benton Harbor) nailed two free throws with less than one second remaining to lift Ferris to a 79-77 triumph Saturday (Nov. 20) over visiting Aquinas in non-conference action at Wink Arena. The Bulldogs, who trailed by 10 points with 13:30 remaining, rallied back and had a chance to clinch the victory by playing for the final shot in the last 20 seconds. However, the Bulldogs committed a shot clock violation with two seconds left to give the Saints the basketball. On the ensuing inbounds pass, Epps came up with a steal and was fouled by Aquinas' Damien Mayo near the basket with five-tenths of a second left to play. After his two free throws, the Saints had a desperation shot from Jeff Jayson come up short as FSU improved to 2-0 overall this campaign.

Leading The Way: Senior guard Carlton Epps (Benton Harbor) led the Bulldog attack with a game-high 27 points. Junior guard Antwuan Holt (Okemos) added 14 points, junior guard Dennis Springs (Toledo, Ohio/Scott) compiled 13 points along with seven assists and Corey Epps netted 11 points for FSU.

A Look At The Bulldogs: Ferris State, which claimed the 2003-04 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) North Division Regular-Season Championship, finished the 2003-04 campaign with a 14-14 overall record and a 14-4 league mark. FSU, which has won more GLIAC championships (10) than any other league member, posted its best overall record in 2003-04 since compiling a 21-12 ledger during the 1997-98 season. Three starters and eight letterwinners return this campaign.

Head Coach Bill Sall: A 1994 Calvin graduate, third-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 32-37 (.464) career mark.

The Bulldog Tradition: The 2004-05 campaign marks the 77th 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 894-836 (.517) all-time mark. The Bulldogs have won 10 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.

Jim Wink Arena: Ferris has recorded a 22-36 (.379) overall record to date in home contests at Jim Wink Arena, including a 15-30 (.333) mark in league play. The 2,400-seat facility replaced Old Jim Wink Arena, which was converted into the current Student Recreation Center after the 1997-98 season. FSU is 2-0 (1.000) at home this year.

On The Road: Ferris is 352-305 (.536) overall since 1980-81 and sports a 165-208 (.442) record in road/neutral site contests during that span. Saturday’s game at California (Pa.) will be the Bulldogs’ initial road contest this campaign.

A Look At The Roster: Ferris’ 2004-05 active roster includes three seniors, four juniors, three sophomores and four freshmen. Eight of the 14 players are guards while the remaining six are frontcourt players. Thirteen players hail from Michigan with one from Ohio.

Ferris Picked Second: Defending champion Ferris State was picked to finish second in the 2004-05 GLIAC North Division Preseason Coaches Poll, which was released by the league office. The Bulldogs totaled 32 points along with two first-place votes in the balloting, which was conducted by the conference's head coaches. Michigan Tech was selected as the North Division favorite as the Huskies recorded 35 points along with five first-place votes. Findlay took the top spot in the South Division with 25 points and five first-place votes. 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. The first-place team in the North Division received six points while the second-place team earned four points, etc. The first-place squad in the South Division picked up five points, the second-place team took four points, etc.

GLIAC Games On The Air: FSU’s 2004-05 league games will be carried live by local radio station WBRN-1460 AM. Selected contests can also be accessed live via the internet by clicking on the Bulldog Athletics Webcasts icon at www.ferris.edu/sports.

FSU On The Internet: Ferris State University Athletics’ official web site can be found at www.ferris.edu/sports. The site features information on all of FSU’s varsity athletics programs.

Between The Lines: FSU head coach Bill Sall will make periodic appearances throughout the season on “Between The Lines,” a weekly half-hour television show devoted to Ferris State Athletics. The program, which is hosted by Shannon Vesper and produced by FSU’s media productions department, airs each Tuesday and Wednesday at 7 p.m. (ET) and 8 p.m. (ET), respectively, on FSU’s Cable Channel 7.

Bulldog Bites: Ferris is off to only its second 2-0 start in its last 13 seasons. The Bulldogs, who also started the 2002-03 season with back to back victories, have not won their opening three games of a campaign since the 1981-82 season ........ Carlton Epps has 995 career points to date and is five points away from becoming the 23rd player in school history to record 1,000 career points. He needs 17 three-pointers to match Aaron Nauta’s (1996-00) school record mark of 166 treys ...... The Bulldogs are presently 2-0 overall in games decided by five points or less this campaign. Last season (2003-04), Ferris dropped five of its seven games decided by the same margin ........ Ferris’ win over Aquinas (11/20) was its first over the Saints since posting a 100-80 win at the Calvin Thanksgiving Classic held in 1993-94 (11/26) at Grand Rapids, Mich. .......... Dennis Springs moved into fourth place on FSU's career assists leaders list with 12 assists against Cornerstone (Nov. 16). He currently has 341 career assists to date and is 104 away from matching Tim Herman's (1975-79) third-place FSU mark of 445 assists. Springs' 12 assist performance versus Cornerstone represents the seventh time he has notched 10 or more assists in a single contest during his career. Six of the seven outings have came at home ......... Corey Epps needs five points to garner his 600th career point. He presently ranks seventh on Ferris' all-time steals chart with 120 thefts in 82 career contests ....... Ferris’ 24 total rebounds against Aquinas were its fewest since recording 23 in a 76-63 loss at Lewis (Ill.) in the 2003-04 (11/15) season opener.

Another Reunion: Third-year FSU head coach Bill Sall was a standout player at Calvin from 1985-90. He has been involved in 11 previous Calvin-Ferris meetings while emerging victorious eight times. Sall 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. He helped guide FSU to a 2-1 ledger during his initial Bulldog coaching stint from 1995-98 and is currently 1-1 versus the Knights since returning as Ferris’ head coach.

Looking Ahead: Ferris State opens conference action Thursday, Dec. 2, versus Findlay at Wink Arena. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. (EST).

A Look At The Opponents:

Calvin: Ferris and Calvin will square off for the 81st time Tuesday with the Knights holding a 65-15 series advantage. In the last meeting (1/3/04), Calvin recorded an 85-77 win at the Calvin Fieldhouse in Grand Rapids, Mich. The Knights, who are presently 2-0 overall this campaign, have won three of the last four series’ meetings to date and are coached by ninth-year head coach Kevin VandeStreek, who led Calvin to the 1999-00 NCAA-III National Championship. Ferris last defeated the Knights in 2002-03 (11/26) by a score of 92-71 at Big Rapids. Calvin, which claimed its own Calvin Tip-off Tourney title with two wins this past weekend (Nov. 19-20) over Grace Bible College and Eastern (Pa.), registered a 19-10 overall record in 2003-04.

California (Pa.): Ferris and California (Pa.) will meet for the first time Saturday in California, Pa. The Vulcans, who are currently 1-1 overall, dropped an 80-56 decision to Virginia Union (2-0) Saturday (Nov. 20) in the championship game of their own Holiday Inn Classic at Hamer Hall. CUP, which entered the contest with a 16-game home court winning streak, was led by sophomore guard Sharif Bray’s 18 points and senior guard Drew Schifino with 17 points. The Vulcans compiled a 23-7 overall record in 2003-04 and placed first in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West Division with an 11-1 overall record. California is guided by ninth-year head coach Bill Brown.