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Printer-Friendly ModeMen fall short in GLIAC opener
December 3, 2007 —
The men's basketball team traveled to Ferris State for the opening game of their GLIAC schedule on Thursday.
With a 3-1 record heading into Big Rapids, the Cards appeared ready for conference play. However, after getting jumped on early by the Bulldogs, they were never able to fully recover.
The Cardinals trailed at halftime 38-27, despite senior center Mike Zuiderveen's nine first half points. He would finish the game with 14.
They were able to work their way back in the game by going on an 8-2 run midway through the second half, capped off by senior guard Mario Mackey's fast break three-pointer that brought them back within two, making the score 44-42.
After playing from behind for the entire game, junior guard Lawrence Ross hit a pair of free throws with nine seconds left to give the Cards their first tie - 66-66 - since the score was 2-2 in the early going of the first. Ross led the team with 20 points, 15 of which came in the second half.
With overtime looming, Ferris State freshman guard Darien Gay responded with a jumper of his own, sealing a 68-66 victory for the Bulldogs.
The Cardinals comeback effort was a valiant one, out-scoring Ferris 38-30 in the second half, but it wasn't enough to combat the hot shooting Bulldogs, who as a team went a combined 54.4 percent from the field.
Williams also chipped in 15 points, 10 of which came in the second half come back effort. Williams is averaging 16.2 points on the season, and is tied with Mackey for second on the team behind Ross, who has a team best averag of 18.6.
The loss drops the Cards to 3-2 (0-1 GLIAC) on the young season. The team will look for their first conference win of the season next week when they travel Thursday to Grand Valley to take on the Lakers, and to Hillsdale on Saturday. Tip-off for Thursday's game is set for 8 p.m., and at 3 p.m. on Saturday.