Wayne State and Ferris State Both Move onto Regional Play

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BAY CITY, Mich. - Wayne State University and Ferris State University will have a rematch of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) men's basketball championship game in the first round of the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional tournament hosted by Bellarmine University. In the GLIAC championship game it was Wayne State who came out on top 73-71 to claim the conference tournament crown.

Ferris State Bulldogs

The Ferris State University men’s basketball team received its first NCAA Division II  Tournament bid since the 2005-06 campaign  Sunday (March 6) in an announcement made during the NCAA-II Selection Show live from Indianapolis. FSU is the Midwest region’s sixth seed and will face third-seeded Wayne State (22-7) this Saturday (March 12) in regional quarterfinal round play at 2:30 p.m. (CT) in Louisville, Ky. Bellarmine University earned the right to host and will host the regional tournament. The regional contest between FSU and WSU will be a rematch of Sunday’s (March 6) thrilling GLIAC Tournament Championship game, which was won by Wayne State 73-71 on a tip-in with one second to play.  Ferris State hosted the GLIAC Semifinals and Finals for only the second time in school history and first time since 1994-95. FSU senior guard Darien Gay and senior forward/center Justin Keenan were both named to the GLIAC All-Tournament Team for their play. The Bulldogs and Wayne State were the only GLIAC member schools to earn berths in the regional field.  The single-elimination national tournament field includes eight regions of eight teams apiece. The Midwest Regional champion will advance to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight set for March 23-26 in Springfield, Mass.

Findlay Oilers

The Oilers had their season come to an end with a 73-64 loss to Wayne State in the semifinals of the GLIAC Tournament. Earlier in the week, the Oilers reached the semifinals with a 73-56 win against Lake Superior State. The Oilers have won 70 games in a row at home counting tournament play since 2008. In the win over the Lakers, Junior guard Kyle Caiola led the team with 15 points, five assists, four rebounds and two steals while freshman forward Greg Kahlig added 13 points, four assists and three rebounds off the bench. Senior guard Nathan Hyde added 12 points and seven rebounds while sophomore guard Aaron Robinson had ten points and six boards. In the loss to the Warriors, Hyde led the team with 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting while Caiola contributed 17 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field. Robinson added seven points and nine rebounds while sophomore forward Jack Smith registered seven points in the defeat. Hyde and Caiola were each named first team all-conference while Robinson earned a spot on the all-defensive team. Hyde also was selected to the GLIAC all-tournament squad.

Grand Valley State Lakers

Entering the GLIAC Tournament, Grand Valley State was the #3 seed thanks to a huge 82-80 overtime win at Ferris State on Saturday (Feb. 26). Michigan Tech was the #6 seed in the eight-team tournament. The loss puts GVSU at 19-8 on the year and it would appear to end the team's chances of making the NCAA Tournament, as the Lakers were ranked 10th in the latest Midwest Regional rankings. Only the top eight teams advance to the NCAA Tournament. Michigan Tech improves to 17-10 overall with the win. Three Grand Valley State players were named to the 2010-11 All-GLIAC teams at the GLIAC Final Four banquet in Big Rapids, Mich. Senior forward Justin Ringler took home a pair of awards, as he was named to the All-GLIAC North Division First Team and the GLIAC North Division All-Defensive Team, while juniors James Thomas and Alvin Storrs earned North Division Second Team and North Division All-Defensive Team honors, respectively, as voted on by the league's head coaches.

Hillsdale Chargers

The Hillsdale College men’s basketball team saw its 2010-11 season come to an end in the first round of the 2011 GLIAC Tournament, losing at Wayne State 79-62 Wednesday night. The Chargers and Warriors finished tied in the conference standings, but WSU won a coin flip to determine home court in that first round game. Hillsdale finished its season with three consecutive losses after starting the season 20-3 in its first 23 games. Hillsdale won 20 games for the first time since 2001-02 and finished with its best winning percentage since the 1980-81 season when it went 28-7 (.800). The Chargers suffered losses to just three teams during the regular season – Michigan Tech, Findlay and Wayne State, and those were three of the final four teams in the 2011 GLIAC tournament. Junior Brent Eaton was named First-Team All-GLIAC South Division and led the team with 408 points and 63 3-point field goals on the season. Junior Tyler Gerber was named Second-Team All-GLIAC South Division, as well as the GLIAC South Division All-Defensive Team. Senior Nick Meinert joined Gerber on the all-defensive team, the first conference  honor of his career. Coach John Tharp is the first coach since Ron Halsted to lead Hillsdale to four consecutive seasons over .500 in his first four seasons.

Lake Superior State Lakers

LSSU ended its season with a 73-56 GLIAC Quarterfinal loss at Findlay on March 2. Junior guard Kyle Hunt (Macomb, Mich.), who was named to the All-GLIAC Second Team despite missing the last 10 games of the year due to injury, led the Lakers in overall scoring a 16.9 points per game. He averaged 18.2 ppg against GLIAC opponents. Freshman guard Derek Billing (Anna, Ohio) was the Lakers’ top scorer with Hunt out of the lineup. He averaged 12.7 ppg and 5.3 apg during LSSU’s last 10 games and contributed 16.5 ppg and 6.0 apg during the Lakers’ last four contests. For the season, senior guard Micah Hudson (Jackson, Mich.) averaged 11.4 ppg, which ranked second overall. He finished sixth on LSSU’s career three-pointers list with 203.

Michigan Tech Huskies

The Michigan Tech men's basketball team continued its hot play with a 74-72 upset victory at Grand Valley State in quarterfinal round action of the GLIAC Tournament. Michigan Tech held GLIAC Player of the Year Justin Keenan to nine points, yet the Huskies fell at Ferris State 73-64 at Wink Arena. Two Michigan Tech men's basketball players, Ali Haidar (Windsor, Ont./Forster) and Mike Hojnacki (Milwaukee, Wis./Eisenhower) were named to All-Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference teams at the GLIAC Final Four banquet. Michigan Tech completed its 2010-11 season with an 18-11 record-nine wins better than its 2009-10 campaign (9-18). The Huskies will return their top four scorers and four starters for next year.

Saginaw Valley State Cardinals

The Saginaw Valley State University men's basketball team fell to the Ferris State University Bulldogs in the opening round of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Tournament by a score of 80-61. Seniors Keithan Jackson (Grand Rapids, Mich./Godwin Heights HS) and Dan Genther (Laingsburg, Mich.) were honored as co-Meijer "Players of the Game" for their efforts in the final contests of their careers. The loss ends the 2010-11 season for SVSU with a final record of 13-14 overall after posting a 9-10 GLIAC record in the regular season. Ferris State moves on as the tournament's #1 seed with a 21-6 overall record after securing the top seed in the tournament with a 16-3 league mark. Two Saginaw Valley State University men's basketball players have earned GLIAC honors for their performance during the 2010-11 season. Junior guard Greg Foster (Indianapolis, Ind./TC Howe HS) was selected to the GLIAC North Division All-Conference First Team while sophomore guard Chris Webb (Saginaw, Mich./Arthur Hill HS) was named to the GLIAC North Division All-Defensive Team.

Wayne State Warriors

Wayne State will be making its 10th NCAA Division II tournament appearance this weekend … WSU also competed in the 1956 NCAA Division I tournament where the Tartars defeated DePaul before falling to Kentucky in the Sweet Sixteen round … in 1970, WSU participated in the College Division Great Lakes Regional, while back in 1939, Wayne University competed in the National Intercollegiate Basketball Tournament … Wayne State reached the regional semifinal in both 1999 and 2005 and the regional championship game in 1993, 1994 and 2004 … the 1993 squad advanced to the Elite Eight semifinals following a triumph over Philadelphia Textile in the Elite Eight quarterfinals … senior guard Bryan Smothers (Pontiac, Mich./Northern) was voted the Most Valuable Player of the GLIAC tournament after scoring 51 points and dishing out 18 assists in the three wins … sophomore guard Mike Hollingsworth (Utica, Mich.) earned a spot on the all-tournament team after recording 22 points and 15 rebounds in the championship game win over Ferris State including scoring the game-winning bucket on a tip-in with 1.5 seconds left.