Saxons Shake Losing Ways

After dropping its first three games, Ferris finds winning ways against North Central and rival L.C.

By Ryan Minnerly

The holiday season has proved jolly thus far for the Ferris boys basketball team. The Saxons took their two regular season games during winter break to enhance their record, rather than impair it as they did in their first three games. The team’s record is now 1-2 in league, and 2-3 overall. Ferris beat North Central in a home game thriller on Monday, and then beat GSL rival Lewis and Clark in an away game just 24 hours later. The Saxons appear to have tied up some loose ends on offense and defense, and though there always remains room for improvement, they are heading in the right direction. Ferris beat North Central by just three points in Monday’s nonleague game, and scored 68 points to do so. And although they scored only 50 points in their rivalry game against the Tiger’s at L.C. on Tuesday, Ferris allowed the opposition just 39 points. Ferris is happy to have a few wins on the board heading into their upcoming tournament.

Ferris vs North Central: Ferris jumped out to an early lead against the Indians of North Central. The home team won the tip and wasted no time getting on the scoreboard. They put up 21 points in the first quarter alone. But North Central responded to the offensive Saxons. The Indians exceeded Ferris’ scoring excellence, scoring 23 points in the second quarter. Despite this superior quarter for the visiting team, the score heading into intermission was 40-37 favoring Ferris. Down just three points at halftime, North Central again went to work on Ferris. The Saxons maintained their lead throughout the third quarter, but just barely, as the opposition was always nipping at their heels and keeping the game close. At the conclusion of the third quarter (in which Ferris was outscored again, 20-17), the game was knotted up at 57. The game was to be decided in the fourth quarter. In the final period of the game, Ferris continued to keep a minuscule lead, if any. With about four minutes remaining in the game, North Central took the advantage from Ferris.  From that point on, the game remained very close. Ferris regained their lead, and with the help of successful free throw attempts in the final minutes, extended their advantage to three points. Though the paper reports it as a half court shot, North Central actually had a very decent buzzer-beating shot attempt from just outside the three-point line that would have sent the game into overtime. The shot did not fall, however, and Ferris emerged victorious. The Saxons were led in scoring by Riley Stockton who had 18 points. Other Saxons in double figures were Connor Halliday with 15, Chris Wilson with 13, and Grant Livingston with 11. Ferris was without junior point guard Jordan Tonani, who was still out with an injury, and were lacking sophomore guard Chase Haack. This was Ferris’ first win, and though it was a nonleague game, it was a great confidence builder for Van Lierop and his team.

Ferris @ L.C.:   Ferris got off to another great start in their rivalry game. The Saxons had some newly gained confidence after getting a much needed win the day before against North Central. Ferris ran all over LC in the opening period, acquiring a 19-7 lead by the conclusion of the first quarter. Those 19 points would be the most that either team would score in a single quarter throughout the low-scoring competition. The Tigers outscored Ferris 14-11 in the second quarter. This would be the only quarter to favor the home team on the scoreboard. Despite their second quarter efforts, Lewis and Clark was at a 21-30 deficit going into halftime. The second half brought less excitement. Ferris scored just 10 points in the third and fourth quarters, and the Tigers scored 9 in each of these periods. Levi Taylor of Lewis and Clark led the Tigers comeback in the second half as he scored 18 of their 39 total points by himself. His efforts were not enough however. Taylor was the only Tiger in double figures for scoring. The next best LC scorers were Michael Bond with 9, and Austin Ehlo with 4. Ferris had three scorers in double figures, led by Chris Wilson who dropped 14, six of which came from long range shooting. Wilson was followed by Connor Halliday and Riley Stockton who had 10 points apiece. The Saxons had a comfortable lead throughout the game, and won with a final score of 50-39.

The Saxons now look ahead to Curtis, a school from the other side of the state. Ferris will square off with these west-side foes on Monday, December 28th to kick off a holiday tournament at SFCC. Good luck Ferris!