HOUGHTON, Mich. -- Michigan Tech battled Ferris State to the last possession in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference men's basketball game at the SDC Gym tonight before the visiting Bulldogs escaped with a 66-63 victory. The Huskies (12-11, 8-6 GLIAC) erased a double-digit second half deficit and led with less than a minute left. FSU (15-8, 12-2 GLIAC) hit a bucket and got a crucial steal in the final seconds to remain on top of the league standings.

Ferris scored five of the first seven points in the second half for its largest lead of the game (42-29). Tech answered with an 11-1 run capped by Stephen Folson's layup off a sweet pass from Joe DeMartin. The three-point margin turned into a 48-40 Ferris lead two minutes later, but the Huskies again chipped away at the deficit. Back-to-back buckets by Folson and Radayl Richardson gave Tech its first lead (58-57) of the half with 4:33 to play.

The Bulldogs scored five straight points before Richardson struck again. The 6-3 guard made a three-pointer at the 1:49 mark, then drained a baseline jumper at 1:02 to put his team back on top, 63-62. FSU's Dennis Springs answered with a layup with 29 seconds left. After a Tech timeout, Antwaun Holt tied up Richardson for a jump ball with six ticks to go. The Bulldogs made both free throws of a one-and-one with 2.5 seconds left to account for the final margin of 66-63. Richardson nearly sent the game into overtime when he made a great play to get a three-pointer off at the buzzer. The shot bounced high off the back of the iron.

Richardson finished with a game-high 19 points on nine-of-12 shooting. Tim Strom and Robby Springborn each scored in double figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Tech held a 33-26 rebounding advantage thanks in part to Fedrick Bowe's game-high nine boards. Both teams made 26 field goals in the game with similar shooting percentages, but Ferris benefitted from seven three-pointers compared to the Huskies' two.

Michigan Tech will play its regular season home finale Saturday (Feb. 11) vs. Lake Superior State at 3 p.m.

Notes: MTU led by as many as five in the first half but Ferris led, 37-27, at the intermission . . . Richardson is averaging 19 points over the last four games . . . Tech is now 8-3 at home this season.