Northern Basketball Team Upsets #17 Ferris State
BIG RAPIDS---The Northern Michigan University men's basketball team upset the nation's 17th-ranked team, the Ferris State Bulldogs, 73-71, Saturday in Big Rapids. Chavis Mattison scored 20 points and pulled down 11 rebounds as NMU Coach Bill Sall got a win against his former team. Marcus Hall also scored 20 points for NMU. The following story is courtesy of NMU Sports Information. Northern Michigan University men's basketball (9-14, 7-10 GLIAC) upset No. 17 Ferris State on the road by a final of 73-71. The Wildcats shot 29-49 (.592) from the field in the contest and went 7-12 (.583) from behind the three-point line in the win. Senior forward Chavis Mattisonrecorded his fifth straight double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds while also adding eight assists on the night. Sophomore guard Marcus Hall added 20 points shooting 8-10 from the field and 4-6 from beyond the arc. After a pair of free throws from freshman guard Jordan Perezthe Wildcats took an early 17-8 lead with 12:50 remaining in the half. Northern Michigan used this early advantage to lead the entire half leading to a 40-35 halftime lead. Northern Michigan shot 15-26 (.577) from the field in the half going 5-8 (.625) from beyond the arc. Hall led the Wildcats with 13 points in the opening frame. Ferris State came out of the locker rooms on a 12-2 run to take their first lead of the game at 47-42 with 16:17 left in the game. The Bulldogs eventually pulled ahead to a 57-51 score with 11:26 remaining before NMU used a 15-4 run to retake the lead at 65-61 with 5:10 left in the contest. The Bulldogs answered scoring seven of the next nine points to take the lead right back at 68-67 and 3:11 on the clock. Mattison then hit a jumper with 2:52 left in the next Wildcat possession to give NMU the lead at 69-68 but Ferris once again answered scoring the next three points to take the 71-69 advantage and 1:43 remaining. A bucket from freshman forward Alex Sorenson knotted the game at 71-71 with 1:15 left. The Wildcats were able to force a turnover in the next Ferris possession and used it to their advantage as Mattison would lay one in to give NMU the lead at 73-71 and five seconds left. A late desperation three-pointer from the Bulldogs went off the mark giving NMU the upset victory. NMU would shoot 14-23 (.609) from the field in the second half led by Mattison who went 5-6 shooting in the half for 11 points. The Wildcats were able to outrebound the Bulldogs 32-27 pulling down 24 defensive rebounds.
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