Ferris State redshirt senior Reece Hazelton, a 2016 Glen Lake graduate, has been making waves throughout the first half of the Bulldog’s season.
Hazelton is averaging 10.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists, while shooting nearly 70% in field goal percentage.
“(The season) has been going awesome. We have had some really close games. We’ve had five games finish at about five points or less. It has been stressful wins,” Hazelton said. “Good teams find ways to win in those close games and we’ve been able to do that so far.”
Ferris State closed the 2023 calendar year in thrilling fashion by rallying from a 15-point deficit to beat Cedarville, Ohio, courtesy of 64 points in the second half after going down 38-27 at the break on Tuesday night. Hazelton was one of five bulldogs to score in double figures, stuffing the stat-sheet with 10 points, six rebounds and four assists.
“We have a lot of guys that are capable of scoring a lot of points. We’ve got a lot of firepower there. Our 3-point shooting has been pretty good so far this year and we usually rebound the ball pretty well,” Hazelton said. “We have been struggling to hold teams to a bad field goal percentage, and that’s why these games have been so close, but these last two games we have honed in on that and we’ve got a couple of big wins because of it. We are continuing to work on our defense.”
Hazelton won the Great Lake Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) player of the week earlier this month when he dropped 11 points in a road win against Lewis (Illinois), then 18 points in a 10657 win over Grace Christian. During this two game stretch, Hazelton only missed two shots.
Hazelton scored 29 points, 13 rebounds, eight assists and two steals in the two games.
“My teammates found me and knocked down some shots,” Hazelton said.
Hazelton has grown into his role at Ferris State after serving his time over the past few years by climbing the ladder. Back in his Glen Lake days, Hazelton averaged 16 points, six rebounds and three assists per game while shooting 55% from the floor as a junior.
