FSU Men’s Basketball At A Glance - The Ferris State University men’s basketball team will battle the Calvin Knights in its 2002-03 home opener this Tuesday (Nov. 26) at FSU’s Jim Wink Arena in Big Rapids, Mich. The non-league contest is slated to tipoff at 7:30 p.m. (EST). The Bulldogs will then open Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) action this Saturday (Nov. 30) hosting the Findlay Oilers in a 3 p.m. (EST) encounter.

Ferris Wins Season Opener - Ferris defeated Saint Joseph’s (Ind.) 76-75 last Friday (Nov. 22) in its 2002-03 season opener at SJC’s Richard F. Scharf Gymnasium in Rensselaer, Ind. Senior center Adam Anderson (Kent City) led the Bulldogs with 18 points and nine rebounds while freshman guard Dennis Springs (Toledo, Ohio/Scott) added 13 points and five assists. Sophomore guards Carlton and Corey Epps (Benton Harbor) tallied 12 and 11 points, respectively. The Bulldogs held a 15 point advantage with 13:01 remaining before the Pumas rallied by outscoring Ferris 39-33 in the second half. A shot by SJC forward Andrew Laird fell short at the buzzer to preserve the FSU victory. The contest marked the debut of first-year Ferris head coach Bill Sall.

Last Season - Ferris State concluded the 2001-02 campaign with a 4-22 overall mark, which included a seventh-place 1-17 GLIAC North Division finish. Eight letterwinners and three starters return this season.

The Bulldog Tradition - The 2002-03 campaign marks the 75th 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 868-807 (.518) 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, which last won the GLIAC Tournament championship during the 1997-98 campaign, captured four consecutive league titles from 1986-90.

Preseason All-America Honoree - Adam Anderson has been named to the 2002-03 Street & Smith’s Division II Preseason Honorable Mention All-America Team for the second consecutive season. Anderson, a 2000-01 Daktronics NCAA-II All-Great Lakes Region First-Team selection, was among 31 individuals receiving preseason accolades and joined Michigan Tech’s Matt Cameron, Hillsdale’s Matt Mlynarchek and Josh Morgan of Gannon as the only representatives from a GLIAC-member institution. Five individuals were named to both the first and second-team squads while 21 others attained honorable mention honors. The 6-10 Anderson, who missed the final 23 games last season due to a bone bruise injury (knee) suffered in a 79-59 non-conference home win versus Olivet (11/20/01), petitioned for and was granted an extra season of eligibility last summer through the NCAA’s medical redshirt process. Prior to his injury, Anderson had played in three contests and was averaging 15.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game.

Head Coach Bill Sall - A 1994 Calvin graduate, first-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. As an assistant under former head coach Edgar Wilson, Sall helped guide FSU to a 21-12 finish along with a GLIAC Tournament Championship title and a NCAA-II National Tournament berth during the 1997-98 season. In four seasons at Hillsdale, the 35-year-old Sall was instrumental in leading the Chargers to a 72-41 (.637) overall record and two consecutive (2001-02) NCAA-II Great Lakes Regional Tournament appearances under head coach Ed Douma. Before joining the coaching ranks, Sall was a standout player at Calvin from 1985-90. A two-time Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) Co-Most Valuable Player Award winner, Sall presently ranks as the Knights’ third-leading all-time scorer with 2,063 points. 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.

Scoring Streak Continues - Adam Anderson, a 2000-01 All-GLIAC North Division First-Team honoree, has scored 10 points or more in 37 of his past 38 career outings, including each of his previous 31 contests. The 6-10 Anderson has scored 1,162 career points to date and presently ranks 16th on the school’s career scoring chart. He notched the school’s ninth best single-season scoring output (555 points) and recorded the fifth-best single-season scoring average by a Bulldog junior during the 2000-01 campaign. Anderson currently ranks as Ferris’ career blocks leader (103) and is ninth on the school’s career made free throw chart (330-518). He established FSU single-season records in made free throws (179) and blocks (50) during the 2000-01 season while becoming the 22nd player in FSU history to score 1,000 career points. Anderson presently has 467 career rebounds and needs nine more to tie Mark Leighton (476; 1980-82) for 17th place on the school’s career list.

Bulldog Bites - Carlton Epps registered a team-leading 58 steals while compiling the program’s eighth-best single-season steals mark during the 2001-02 season ........ Ferris State was picked to finish seventh in the GLIAC Preseason Men's Basketball North Division Coaches Poll with 13 points ..... Senior guard Brian Monahan (Ypsilanti/Ann Arbor Pioneer) has 96 career steals to date and needs six more to tie David Tuck (102; 1986-90) for 10th place on Ferris’ career list. He has led the Bulldogs in assists each of the past two seasons ........ Corey Epps has scored 173 career points to date and is 27 shy of notching his 200th career point ........ Junior forward Nathan Wruble (Harbor Beach) needs three rebounds to garner his 150th career board ...... FSU has won two of its last five home openers, including last season’s 79-59 win over Olivet (11/20) ...... Adam Anderson has reached double-figure scoring 57 times in 80 career games ........ Bill Sall has been involved in nine previous Calvin-Ferris series meetings while emerging victorious seven times. Sall led the Knights to three victories as a player (1987-90) and two wins in three tries as an assistant coach (1992-95). He also helped guide Ferris to a 2-1 mark versus Calvin as a Bulldog assistant coach (1995-98).

Against The Opponents - Ferris will host Calvin and Findlay this week at FSU’s Jim Wink Arena in Big Rapids.

Calvin: Ferris and Calvin will square off for the 79th time this Tuesday with the Knights holding a 64-14 series advantage. In the last meeting (12/1/01), Calvin recorded a 95-76 win at the Calvin Fieldhouse in Grand Rapids, Mich. The Knights have won two consecutive meetings to date and are coached by seventh-year head coach Kevin Vande Streek, who led Calvin to the 1999-00 NCAA-III National Championship. Ferris last defeated the Knights in 1997-98 (12/20) by a score of 100-96 in overtime at Big Rapids. Calvin, which was ranked eighth in the 2002-03 Street and Smith’s NCAA Division III Preseason poll, registered a 20-7 overall record during the 2001-02 campaign and won its fourth consecutive MIAA championship. The Knights return four starters from last year's team, including 6-6 forward Jeremy Veenstra. The two-time MIAA Most Valuable Player led Calvin with 18.1 points and 8.9 rebounds per game last season. Calvin opened the season 2-0 last weekend (Nov. 22-23) by defeating SUNY-Brockport 93-77 and Grace Bible College 96-67 in the Calvin Tipoff Tourney.

Findlay: The Oilers maintain a 5-2 series edge heading into this Saturday’s meeting. Findlay defeated Ferris 91-72 in the last meeting (11/29/01) at Findlay, Ohio. UF, which has won five consecutive series contests, is presently 1-1 overall heading into this Tuesday’s (Nov. 26) non-conference home contest versus Tiffin (Ohio) after recording a 94-73 win last Saturday (Nov. 23) over Ohio Valley College at the John L. Griffin/Lions Club Classic in Highland Heights, Ky. Findlay dropped a 70-62 decision against tournament host Northern Kentucky in its season opener last Friday (Nov. 22). The Oilers, who are coached by 17th-year head coach Ron Niekamp, were 23-7 overall during the 2001-02 campaign and advanced to the NCAA-II Great Lakes Regional Tournament semifinal round. Sophomore guard Tyson McGlaughlin is UF’s leading scorer (15.0 ppg) to date.

Looking Ahead - Ferris State will visit the Aquinas Saints Tuesday, Dec. 3, for a 7:30 p.m. (EST) non-league encounter at the Aquinas Fieldhouse in Grand Rapids, Mich. The Bulldogs will then battle the Gannon Knights Thursday, Dec. 5, in an 8 p.m. (EST) league contest at GU’s Hammermill Center in Erie, Pa. Ferris will face the Mercyhurst Lakers Saturday, Dec. 7, at MC’s Athletic Center in Erie. Tipoff for the GLIAC contest is slated for 3 p.m. (EST).

FSU Ticket Prices - Individual game tickets to all FSU home basketball games can be obtained at the door or by calling the Bulldog ticket office at (231) 591-2888. Adult tickets are $5 and student tickets are $3. A family pass can be purchased for $10. Ferris State faculty/staff ticket prices are $4. Special group pricing is available for groups of 20 or more.

Ferris 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 including rosters, schedules and the latest results.