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STRONG START: Bay College Men Topple Gogebic
 Click the thumbnails to see photos and videos, and click the AUDIO buttons to hear post-game comments from Tyrel Creger and Coach Matt Johnson. Also hear Jaylen Flaniken's player spotlight interview. ESCANABA---The Bay College Norse men's basketball team jumped to an 11-0 lead on Saturday and never looked back, crushing the Gogebic Community College Samsons, 87-53, at the Bay College Gym. The Norse also beat the Harper (Ill.) College Hawks, 97-66, Friday night. Against Gogebic, the Norse made more than 50-percent of their shots from the floor, and sank 20 of their 28 free throw attempts. Twelve different Bay players scored.  "As a coach, that is a great problem to have. For some of the guys at the end of our bench, they're not playing as much as they would if they were at other schools. They've got to keep fighting. We've goit guys who will be competing for minutes all season long." One man who impressed Saturday was freshman point guard Tyrel Creger. He led the Norse with 14 points, grabbed seven rebounds, and dished out five assists. He made both of his free throws, sabk two triples, and committed only three turnovers in 30 minutes. "It felt really good," said Creger, who comes to the U.P. from Minnesota. "I think the whole team played well. A lot of good intensity on defense, and some easy possessions in transition. I'm just letting the game come to me more instead of forcing some things. Overall, a good game, I thought. We've got a good chance to be really special this year." "What more can you ask from your point guatrd," Johnson said. "That's a heck of an effort."  It was another nice job off the bench for Jaylen Flaniken. He knocked down three triples and scored 12 points, grabbed six rebounds, and had six assists. This followed his performance Friday night against Harper, when he had a double double of 16 points and 14 rebounds. Flaniken is playing with a heavy heart this season, following the death of his monther, Dayna, in a traffic accident one month ago. He is dedicating everything to her memory. "It's been really, really hard, man," Flaniken said. "I didn't want to come back here. But I knew she wanted me to do this. It's hard dealing with school, dealing with basketball, on top of dealing with my mom's death. But I'm just blessed. I'm prayed-up. Just pushing through every day. My Aunty Kim texted me and told me that my mom was watching from the heavens. She was letting me know that she was still watcing. So, I went out there and did what I could." Sophomore Lamar Grayson is back for another season, and he scored 12 points against Gogebic, after scoring 16 in Friday night's win over Harper College.  In Friday's win, Escanaba native Colin Hudson had eleven points and elevn rebounds. On Saturday, Bay rolled to a 47-24 halftime lead after that 11-0 start. The Samsons, after beating Aplena Friday night, was not able to cut into that deficit and fell to 1-1 on the season. Trevon Clark led the Samsons with 21 points and Donald Davis III added 12 points. In Friday's game, the Harper Hawks had four players in double figures: Nick Vuckovic and Darrell Luce both had 15, Mike Vuckovic added 14, and Sean Beckman had 13 points. Harper defeated Alpena on Saturday, 82-74. The Norse will reset the deck and get ready for another long weekend of basketball at the Bay College Gym with another tournament next Friday and Saturday. The Minnesota North College-Mesabi Norse (yes, they are the Norse, too) and the Madison College (Wis.) Wolfpack will come to Escanaba, for both the men's and women's tournaments. The first opponent for Bay on Friday will be Mesabi, with the women's game at 6 p.m. and the men's contest at 8 p.m. Madison and North Central Michigan College will play earlier Friday. "Two very good teams." Johnson said. "They're both going to be athletic. Definitely going to be two battles. We've got to get better this week in practice. We're sitting right where we want. We're 2-0, but we've got to move on and get better. Hopefully after next week, we can be 4-0."  |
