COLUMBUS, Ohio – Sophomore guard Zack Joseph (Lewis Center, Ohio) led three Panthers in double-figures with a career-high 13 points, but Ohio Dominican's men's basketball team fell 69-60 to visiting Ferris State in GLIAC play Saturday.

With the setback, ODU falls to 2-4 (0-2 GLIAC), while the Bulldogs improved to 4-3 (2-0 GLIAC).

Joseph came off the bench and knocked down 5-of-8 from the field, including both three-point attempts, to eclipse his old high of nine points last year. Senior forward Aaron Gibbs (Oberlin, Ohio) notched his first double-double of the year with 11 points and 10 rebounds, and junior guard Morgan Jones (Oberlin, Ohio) tallied 10 points and five rebounds for the Panthers.

Ferris State took control of the ballgame early, scoring the first 11 points of the contest and building a 15-2 lead at the 12:37 mark. Joseph's three-pointer and a deep jumper by sophomore guard Brandon Carr (Westchester, Ill.) trimmed the deficit to 15-7, but that was as close as the Panthers would get for the remainder of the half as FSU took a 40-23 lead into intermission.

The Bulldogs extended the lead to as many as 21 points in the second half, but ODU chipped away and made things interesting in the final three minutes. Down 62-46, the Panthers scored eight straight as Joseph and senior center Zak Kapron (Malvern, Ohio) made layups and Jones had a bucket and two free throws to make it 62-54 with 2:05 left. After a missed Ferris free throw, the Panthers had a three-point attempt miss long that would have made it a five-point game, and the Bulldogs sank two free throws on the other end to re-gain a 10-point lead.

Jones answered with a layup with 45 seconds to make it an eight-point game again, but the Panthers would draw no closer.

Ferris State held a commanding 40-25 advantage on the glass, scoring 13 second-chance points, and turned 17 Panther turnovers into 18 fast break points.

Ohio Dominican hits the road for its next six games, beginning Thursday with a 7:30 p.m. tip at Michigan Tech.

Contact: Scott Miles
miless@ohiodominican.edu