The nation's 15th-ranked Ferris State University men's basketball squad erased an 11-point halftime deficit early in the second half and came away with its 12th win of the season, beating longtime Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) rival Lake Superior State 90-86 on Saturday (Jan. 6) at FSU's Jim Wink Arena.

Before a big crowd on hand for FSU's first GLIAC home doubleheader of the season, the Bulldogs outscored LSSU 54-39 to pull out the win in another classic matchup against the Lakers. Ferris State moved to 12-2 overall and 2-1 in conference play with the triumph.

The Lakers jumped in front early and built a 14-point lead late in the opening half while shooting nearly 70% from the floor in the opening 20 minutes of action. Lake Superior State held a 47-36 margin at the halftime break, but the Lakers were outscored 54-39 by FSU in the second half as the Bulldogs responded in a big way.

Ferris State turned up the pressure and created early energy in the final period, erasing the Lakers' lead in the opening five minutes before eventually building a six-point lead with just over three minutes to go. The Lakers tied the game up late, but Ferris State made enough plays down the stretch to come away with the win, sealing the victory with a pair of free throws from senior guard Ben Davidson with less than five seconds left.

Senior Dolapo Olayinka led the Bulldogs with a game-high tying 21 points and nearly had a double-double effort with a contest-best nine rebounds. Junior Reece Hazelton added 14 points with Davidson notching 13 points and junior Ethan Erickson recording 10 points, which included a trio of made three-pointers. Both Deng Reng and Jack Ammerman tallied eight points each for FSU, which won its sixth-straight game.

The Bulldogs shot 50.8% from the floor in the victory and made nine-of-21 (42.9%) three's along with 17-of-20 (85.0%) free throws. In comparsion, the Lakers finished with a 58.0% shooting figure and went 10-of-17 (58.8%) from long range while sinking 18-of-25 (72.0%) free throws.

The Bulldogs outrebounded Lake Superior State 36-23 for the day and pulled down 12 offensive boards to only two for the Lakers, leading to a decisive 25-3 edge in second chance scoring. FSU also outscored the Lakers 40-36 in the paint and 15-5 in points off turnovers as LSSU finished with nine turnovers compared to only seven for the Bulldogs. Overall, FSU had six blocked shots and six steals with the Lakers netting two blocks and four steals.

Ferris State also dished out 25 assists with senior Amari Lee totaling seven assists in the win.

The Lakers were led by Xander Okerlund's 21 points. Both Devin Womack and Tyson Edmondson had 16 poitns each, Hunter Soper scored 13 points and Kingsley Perkins finished with 10 points. The FSU bench outscored the LSSU reserves 26-10 in the win.

With the loss, Lake Superior State dropped to 9-4 overall and 1-2 in conference play.

Ferris State will travel to Michigan's Upper Peninsula next week to face Michigan Tech on Thursday (Jan. 11) at 7:30 p.m. (ET) in Houghton. FSU will then visit Northern Michigan on Saturday (Jan. 13) for a 3 p.m. (ET) tilt in Marquette.