Ferris State's Keenan Ties GLIAC Men's Basketball All-Time Scoring Mark

Release courtesy of Rob Bentley, Associate Athletics Communications Director Ferris State University

BIG RAPIDS, Mich. - Ferris State University senior forward/center Justin Keenan (Grand Rapids/Ottawa Hills) proved he ranks among the top players in conference history as he tied the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference's (GLIAC) all-time career scoring record on Saturday (Feb. 19) at Jim Wink Arena.

The 6-7 All-American tallied a game-high 19 points in FSU's 84-66 upset over nationally third-ranked Findlay as the Bulldogs clinched the outright GLIAC North Division Championship. He matched former Grand Valley State standout John Flynn atop the league's all-time scoring chart with 1,531 career points in league play.

Keenan now needs only a single point in next Saturday's (Feb. 26) regular-season finale against archrival Grand Valley State at Wink Arena to hold the league's all-time scoring record on his own.

His play on Saturday helped the Bulldogs win their first conference championship since claiming back-to-back crowns in 2003-04 and 2004-05.  It also gave FSU the inside track towards potentially hosting the GLIAC semifinals and finals in early March.

"It feels great," Keenan said.  "This has been a culmination of four years and this year we controlled our own destiny and we made it happen.  I'm so proud of my teammates. Everybody on this team steps up on different nights and I can't be more proud of them."

A returning consensus NCAA Division II All-American, Keenan was tabbed as the Division II Bulletin Preseason National Player of the Year for the 2010-11 campaign.  The two-time All-GLIAC First Team honoree was the 2009-10 GLIAC Player of the Year after leading the league in scoring for the second year in a row.

Overall, Keenan has reached double figure scoring 103 times in his 109-game career.  He ranks as the school's second-leading all-time scorer with 2,114 career points to date and presently leads the GLIAC in both scoring and rebounding this campaign.

Saturday's victory was FSU's 12th-straight win and 14th in the last 15 games. The Bulldogs improved to 20-5 overall and hold the league's top overall record at 16-2 this campaign. FSU's 20 victories to date this year are the program's most since reaching the NCAA Division II Sweet Sixteen with a 24-7 mark in 2004-05 and the Bulldogs' 16 league wins are now tied for the most in school history along with the perfect 16-0 GLIAC record recorded in 1988-89.

Ferris State will host Grand Valley State in the regular-season finale next Saturday (Feb. 26) at Wink Arena. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. (ET) and a special "1,000 Wins Celebration" is planned to commemorate the program's 1,000th victory earlier this month.  All former players have been invited back to celebrate the occassion.