Bulldog men’s basketball wins NCAA Division II National Championship, sweeps coaching and team honors
By Robert Bentley
Assistant Athletic Director for Communications
Ferris men’s basketball head coach Andy Bronkema addresses players and
assistant coaching staff during the national championship game on March 24.
The Ferris State University men’s basketball squad capped off a historic campaign as the Bulldogs claimed the school’s first NCAA Division II National Championship with a thrilling 71-69 triumph over Northern State (South Dakota) before a sold-out crowd inside the Sanford Pentagon on Saturday, March 24, in Sioux Falls.
The Bulldogs fell behind early by seven points in the opening half, but rallied back to take a 39-37 halftime lead. The second half went back and forth, with Ferris State grabbing a six-point advantage with 18:12 to go in the game before the Wolves responded in the teams’ second-ever series matchup.
Down the stretch, the two teams traded advantages before the Bulldogs finally surged in front in the closing minute. A last-second try from Northern State fell short, and the Bulldogs secured the rebound to pull out the victory.
Junior center Zach Hankins led the way for Ferris State with a teamhigh 19 points while earning NCAA Division II Elite Eight Most Outstanding Player honors. He was joined on the all-tournament team by senior guard Drew Cushingberry.
The Bulldogs also got 12 points from senior wing Peter Firlik to go with 11 points by junior forward Markese Mayfield.
Overall, Ferris State shot 47.3 percent for the day and hit 16-of-22 (72.7 percent) free throws while making three-of-eight (37.5 percent) threes in the triumph. Northern State, which closed the year with an impressive 36-4 mark, was led by Carter Evans’ game-high 20 points. Both Logan Doyle and Darin Peterka added 14 points each with Ian Smith scoring 12 points.
The Wolves totaled a 49.1 percent shooting figure, but Ferris State limited Northern State to only one-of-four (25 percent) shooting from beyond the arc. Northern State made 12-of-18 (66.7 percent) free throws.
The Bulldogs were out-rebounded 33-27 for the day. However, Ferris State also forced 18 turnovers and outscored the Wolves 19-9 in points off those turnovers while notching the win.
Watch CBS highlights from the national championship game:
http://www.ferrisstatebulldogs.com/sports/mbkb/2017-18/videos/20180325-1tgnr23r.
“It’s something that we were dreaming about all year, so when it actually came true, you know, it was something that we had thought about a lot,” said head coach Andy Bronkema. “In some ways, it wasn’t that big of a surprise because we had dreamed about it, and we had challenged our guys to dream about it.”
The Bulldogs not only won the championship title but also matched the all-time NCAA Division II record with their 38th win of the year, tying Winona State (Minnesota) for the most victories in a single campaign in Division II basketball history.
Ferris State closed a magical campaign with a 38-1 overall record and won its last 26 games in a row to close the year behind the school’s all-time winningest senior class.
Ferris State became only the second Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference school ever to win a national championship in men’s basketball, joining Findlay’s unbeaten 2009 team in the record books. The national championship is the first ever for a Ferris State athletics squad in NCAA Division II competition.
Ferris State was awarded multiple season-end honors on the heels of the win. D2 Bulletin further named Bulldog Men’s Basketball its team of the year, and the team was honored with a special proclamation by Michigan Rick Snyder following its victory.
Read more about the team’s D2 Bulletin recognition at
http://www.ferrisstatebulldogs.com/sports/mbkb/2017-18/releases/20180327pvo7i1.
Watch the team meet Snyder at
http://www.ferrisstatebulldogs.com/sports/mbkb/2017-18/videos/20180405-daamprvx.
Bronkema earned Division II national coach of the year awards from the National Association of Basketball Coaches, Basketball Times, D2 Bulletin and hoopdirt.com. Hankins was named 2018 national player of the year by D2 Bulletin and the NABC, and was nominated for the 2018 Bevo Francis award. Bronkema and Hankins accepted their NABC honors on Sunday, April 1, at the 2018 NABC Guardians of the Game Awards Show, presented in conjunction with the NCAA Division I Final Four, in San Antonio, Texas.
Read more about Bronkema and Hankins’ honors at
http://www.ferrisstatebulldogs.com/sports/mbkb/2017-18/releases/20180402omk3ox.
Bronkema has guided Ferris State to four consecutive NCAA tournament appearances. Over five seasons under Bronkema, the Bulldogs have a 123-41 won-lost record, a winning percentage of .750.
Center Zach Hankins scored a team high of 19 points in the championship
game on March 24.
Hankins led Division II in total blocks for two straight seasons and was ranked among the national leaders in field goal percentage. He set new school single-season records with 380 rebounds and a 71.1 field goal percentage this campaign while being a consensus All- America choice and claiming both GLIAC and Midwest Region player of the year awards for the second consecutive campaign. After graduation from Ferris State in Summer 2018, Hankins has committed to play as a graduate transfer at NCAA Division I Xavier University for the 2018-19 season.
“I want to thank Coach Bronkema, Ferris State University and the Bulldog Nation for the love and support I’ve received these past four years,” Hankins said. “I have loved sharing all of this success with my teammates and the entire athletic community at FSU.”
“We’re thankful for the four outstanding years we had with Zach in our program,” said Bronkema. “Ferris State University is a destination and a place people want to stay. It is also a place where we are trying to do what’s best for each individual and, in this case, that means Zach grad-transferring to one of the top Division I programs in the country.
“This has been on our radar since last fall, and he did an outstanding job giving us everything he had this past year and was a huge reason for our championship success,” he added. “Zach’s been a great ambassador for our program and will be a Bulldog forever. As much as he’s meant to us on the floor, his outstanding leadership and personality off the court will be even harder to replace.”
Read more on Hankins’ new opportunity at
http://www.ferrisstatebulldogs.com/sports/mbkb/2017-18/releases/20180405mtgijr.
Hankins won’t be the only departure. Assistant coach Jim Lake was named head coach of University of Wisconsin-Stout shortly after the victory. The championship game also marked the final contest for five Bulldog seniors, including the program’s two all-time winningest seniors, guard Cushingberry and wing Noah King, who led FSU to four consecutive NCAA Division II Tournament appearances and four-straight GLIAC Tournament Championships along with back-to-back league regular-season titles in addition to the national championship. Additionally, senior wing Peter Firlik and senior forward TyQuone Greer played their final games as Bulldogs in the national title game.
The March 24 championship game marked the final contest for five Bulldog
seniors, including wing Noah King.
The Bulldogs will return nine letterwinners for the 2018-19 season while welcoming in a highly-talented recruiting class. The squad will have a special opportunity to open the 2018-19 campaign next fall in one of college basketball’s most historic venues as the national champions have been invited to face the Duke Blue Devils at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, North Carolina. Complete details have yet to be finalized. The invitation was extended by Duke Athletic Department officials following the Bulldogs’ NCAA Tournament Championship game win and continues a decade-long trend of Duke University inviting the Division II national champion for an exhibition tilt.
Read more about the invitation to the exhibition game at
http://www.ferrisstatebulldogs.com/sports/mbkb/2017-18/releases/20180329n2lk8u.
“We’re thrilled with the invitation to not only play in such a historic facility, but also to face one of the elite in college basketball in Duke University,” said Bronkema. “We appreciate the invitation to open the year against a first-class program and thank Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski and the entire Duke administration and staff for this outstanding opportunity.
“It was such an awesome experience to win a national championship to wrap up this year, and this will be a great way to open next season on the heels of that championship run,” Bronkema added. Duke has annually invited the defending Division II champion to play on its home court since 2009. The contest is played as an exhibition game and will not count toward either team’s record.
“This will be a great experience for our student-athletes and coaches, on top of being a big-time honor and reward for our Bulldog basketball program,” said Ferris State Athletics Director Perk Weisenburger. “We’re appreciative to Duke for the opportunity to compete in such a big-time environment, and it will be a great way to open next season.”
The national championship brought considerable media attention to the university. Read more at https://ferrismagazine.com/national-spotlight/.
It also drew focus on the men’s basketball team’s commitment to the community and their supporters. Read more at https://ferrismagazine.com/giving-back/.
See the game’s final call: http://www.ferrisstatebulldogs.com/sports/mbkb/2017-18/videos/20180327-a0k3vh9q
Watch the trophy presentation and interviews (CBS): http://www.ferrisstatebulldogs.com/sports/mbkb/2017-18/videos/20180327-p3t7al5x