BIG RAPIDS, Mich. – Purdue Northwest held on to defeat Ferris State 80-77 Saturday afternoon to split the weekend series with the Bulldogs.
PNW improved to 8-8 overall, and with two games remaining, the Pride currently sit a game out of second place and two games behind the GLIAC North Division leader Michigan Tech.
With a win in the final away game of the shortened season, the program turnaround is picking up speed as the Pride recorded the most road victories (4) during the team's Division II era. The Pride totaled just four combined road wins over the previous three seasons. PNW also defeated Ferris State (8-9, 7-7 GLIAC) for the first time.
"Today was a great bounce-back performance for our guys, and we beat a very good team on the road," PNW head coach
Boomer Roberts said. "Ferris was the aggressor yesterday, and the film was not fun to watch. We respect how good their program is, and we knew we needed to be much better today.
"Vince (Miszkiewicz) was on a different level, and he combined with Jyro (
Jyrus Freels) and AB (
Anthony Barnard) for 33 boards. Those three stepped up to the challenge. Our guards were way more locked in on both ends today, and we made enough plays to win a great college basketball game between two really competitive cultures."
Miszkiewicz finished with a career-high 26 points on 10-of-16 shooting, while posting his sixth double-double effort with 16 rebounds. The sophomore forward continues to lead the GLIAC in rebounding while averaging a double-double (13.0 ppg & 11.5 rpg) this season.
With nearly two minutes left, Miszkiewicz had the dunk of the day when he drove the lane and finished with a monster two-handed slam over a Bulldog defender. The highlight-reel play was a key basket and put the Pride up eight near the end of the game.
PNW led by as much as 11 with three minutes left, but Ferris State rallied with a furious 13-5 run to nearly pull the comeback off. FSU's Ben Davidson got a clean look at the buzzer but the potential game-tying three fell short.
The back-and-forth, physical contest featured seven lead changes and over 40 combined fouls.
After losing the rebounding battle in yesterday's loss, the Pride locked down the glass in Saturday's triumph with a convincing 46-30 margin. Miszkiewicz and Freels each had three offensive boards as the Pride pulled down 13 total.
PNW also got better ball movement, registering 20 assists for the second time in three games while knocking down 28 made field goals and nine threes.
Freels went 6 of 10 from the field with 13 points and eight boards.
Mikell Cooper also scored 13 points with five rebounds, three assists and three steals. Barnard had nine boards and four assists, while
Gregory Boyle notched nine points.
Xavier Allison dished out a team-high seven assists.
FSU's Walt Kelser led all scorers with 31 points. Davidson had 12 and Mason Pline scored 10 to reach double digits for the Bulldogs.
NEXT UP
PNW will wrap up the regular season at home next week against Northern Michigan. Friday's tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. CST and Saturday's finale is set for 3 p.m. CST at the PNW Fitness & Recreation Center.
