BLOG 42: Sall happy to see his team bounce back

By Sandy Gholston

Ferris State University players Jason Holder (34) and Josh Young (right) work to defend the pick and roll (Photo/Sandy Gholston)

BIG RAPIDS – All kinds of disappointment gripped Ferris State University’s men’s basketball team following its Thursday night 66-58 home loss to Michigan Tech.

As tight as the GLIAC race is these days, the Bulldogs knew they needed a bounce-back win in the worst possible way against Northern Michigan. That is exactly what Ferris got as it came out inspired and played a more passionate brand of basketball from start to finish en route to a 73-63 victory over the Wildcats.

It was business as usual for the Bulldogs who gave Northern a heavy dose of big man Justin Keenan, who finished with 28 points and eight rebounds in 33 minutes. Also in double digits, Ferris received 11 points apiece from Darien Gay and Josh Young while Matt DeHart just missed a double-digit total with eight.

The Northern win may not have been the prettiest Ferris has had this season, but it was a victory and that is all that matters with precious few games left in the regular season (just four to be exact). The Bulldogs did a great job feeding Keenan in the post who obviously knows what to do with the ball when he gets his hands on it. One of the biggest improvements Ferris has made, over the course of the season, has been getting the ball in the low post to Keenan utilizing (among other things) good spacing on the floor, superb post feeding and the ability to knock down perimeter shots. It also helps that Keenan is a master of getting and holding position inside.

The Bulldogs picked their spots shooting the triple as they knocked down 6-of-18 as Gay had three of those, DeHart had two and Dontae Molden added one. Knocking down those perimeter shots, as has been pointed out before, opens things up in the paint for Keenan to inflict his damage.

If you have any questions, ideas or comments feel free to contact Sandy Gholston at sgholston2@netzero.com