BIG RAPIDS, Mich. – Purdue Northwest fell 120-77 to nationally-ranked Ferris State on Thursday night inside Big Rapids High School Gymnasium.
 
PNW dropped to 3-5 (0-1 GLIAC) overall while Ferris State improved to 6-1 (1-0 GLIAC) on the young season. The Bulldogs entered the matchup ranked seventh in the national Top 25 media poll and 23rd in the national coaches' poll.
 
STAT LEADERS

• Senior Jyrus Freels (Evansville, Ind./Francis Joseph Reitz) led three players in double digits for the Pride with 12 points, including his first made 3-pointer of the year
• Sophomore Anthony Irvin (Chandler, Ariz./Corona Del Sol) posted 11 points and six rebounds
• Junior Anthony Barnard (Kokomo, Ind./Kokomo) posted a double-double effort with 10 points and 10 boards
• Sophomore Caleb Zurliene (Breese, Ill./Mater Dei) chipped in with nine points, three rebounds and three assists

 
How it happened: Zurliene knocked down a three for PNW's first bucket of the night, which gave the Pride an early 3-2 advantage. However, that would prove to be the only lead of the night for the Black and Gold.
 
Ferris State raced out to a 22-6 lead, before the Pride tried to claw back. A Freels three capped a 7-1 run to climb back within 10 near the 11-minute mark in the first half. Then, the Pride kept within striking distance when a Logan Phillips (Chandler, Ariz./Valley Christian) layup cut the deficit to 33-23 with under eight minutes until halftime.

However, the host Bulldogs would utilize a 24-4 run over the final stretch of the opening period to take control at halftime and they continued the hot shooting in the second half. FSU would finish the night shooting 61% from the floor with 14 made 3-pointers and 38 assists on 48 made field goals.
 
FSU's Dorian Aluyi led all scorers with 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting to go with eight rebounds and seven assists. Walt Kelser finished with 20 points and nine assists, as six Bulldogs scored in double figures.
 
UP NEXT
PNW will travel to Lake Superior State for a 2 p.m. Saturday tipoff. The Lakers (4-1) suffered their first loss of the season Thursday night to Parkside. The Pride will return home to host Grand Valley State next Thursday, Dec. 9, inside the Hammond Campus Fitness & Recreation Center.

FOLLOW THE PRIDE
For all the latest information on Purdue Northwest men's basketball, please visit PNWathletics.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow the Pride (@pnwathletics & @PNWBasketball) on Twitter. You can also find the Pride on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.