Ferris State University will have two basketball teams competing in the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Division II National Tournament as the men’s team battled back to win the Midwest Regional Championship on Tuesday.

The Bulldogs trailed Lake Superior State University by 16 points early in the game, but won 86-81 to advance to the next round of the tournament, which will be played in Evansville, Ind.

The men join the women’s team, which secured its first berth in the Elite Eight by topping archrival Grand Valley State University on Monday night on GVSU’s home court. It’s the first time both Ferris State teams have advanced this deep into the tournament at the same time.

It’s the third Elite Eight performance for the men’s team, which won the national title in 2018.

Head Coach Andy Bronkema said he was impressed by how his team battles back, doesn’t lose focus, and figures out how to make mid-game adjustments.

“If you look at any of these conference games, we were down at halftime of all three,” he said. “Overcoming the deficits we had here, it’s just a team that won’t give up. It stays the course and believes in the mission. They believe in each other, and they sacrifice a lot, too. And once you get at team to that point, you have your best chance.”

Ferris State fell behind early as Lake Superior State caught fire early and built a 16-point lead at one stage of the game. The Bulldogs fought back within five at halftime and erased the deficit by scoring the first nine points of the second half to grab the lead.

From there, the game went back and forth down the stretch. LSSU held a four-point lead with less than three minutes to go, but Ferris State rallied and came away with the win, notching the regional crown on the heels of last week's Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament Championship.

Ferris State was led by Ethan Erickson with 23 points in the game, including making his first five three-point attempts in the opening half to help Ferris State climb back into the game. He was joined in double-digits by seniors Ben Davidson and Vejas Grazulis with 11 points each while both senior Dolpao Olayinka and junior Reece Hazelton added 10 points apiece.

Lake Superior State, which had split the regular-season series' with the Bulldogs, were led by Devin Womack with 20 points. Kingsley Perkins added 16 points while Tyson Edmondson scored 14 points, Hunter Soper tallied 13 points and Xander Okerlund netted 10 points.

Ferris State improved to 28-7 overall this season with its sixth-straight postseason win.

Both Erickson and Davidson were named to the regional all-tournament team and Erickson brought home Most Valuable Player accolades.

Bronkema said he’s excited to have both the men’s and women’s teams advancing in the tournament, saluting the squad led by Head Coach Kurt Westendorp.

“I almost wished we would have played first because Kurt put a lot of pressure on me!” Bronkema joked. “We watched that game in the lobby of the hotel. Very, very proud of Kurt and his team. Those girls are awesome people. They make it fun to be around and they are a joy to travel with. It’s a pretty cool experience for Ferris State. Soak it in because it’s rare. Championships like this are uncommon. We’ve got two teams going in to the Elite Eight!”