STILL ROLLING: Norse Blitz Grand Rapids, 99-72

Click the thumbnails to see photos and videos, and to hear post-game comments from Tyrel Creger and Coach Matt Johnson. Also click the AUDIO button to hear Justin Nelson's player spotlight interview.

ESCANABA---The Bay College Norse men's basketball team stayed undefeated in conference play on Saturday, turning back the Grand Rapids Community College Raiders, 99-72, on Alumni Day at the Bay College Gym. The win allowed the Norse to improve to 19-4 on the season, and more importantly, 9-0 in Michigan Community College Athletic Association play.

"We played really well in the second half, I thought," Norse Coach Matt Johnson said. "Defensively, in the first half, we were good, but I thought we were better overall in the second half. Our guys played really hard. We battled. And it's the same thing as always. We had different guys step up. We had four guys (score) in double digits. The minutes were spread across the board, pretty much. We got a really good win against a really good basketball team."

Genesis Kemp continued to show his value coming off the bench, as he gives the Norse the most production in the least number of minutes played.

On Saturday, he played 20 minutes, and scored a career-high 24 points and grabbed six rebounds (five of them on the offensive end).

And Ty Creger continued to show his worth as one of the premier point guards in the league. His stat line on Saturday: 24 points, ten rebounds, five assists, three steals, and only one turnover in 35 minutes of play.

He even had a blocked shot on defense, and made four of his five free throw attempts. Creger made nine of his 13 shots from the field, including a pair of triples.

"Credit to my teammates, they were finding me for my open jumpers," Creger said. "I kept getting to the lane, and finishing well. So, overall, a great game for me. And he (Kemp) is such a weapon off the bench. I mean, he comes in, plays as hard as he can, brings a ton of energy. He's a great played. A great dude to have on the team. When he gets in, it's an instant spark."

The Norse led from start to finish in this one. West Iron County's Justin Nelson had two slam dunks in the early going as Bay built a 15-5 lead, and a Joc Overstreet triple made it an 18-6 lead. But the Raiders made a run late in the first half, closing to within 28-26 as Herman Brown sank a pair of triples off the bench and Seth Schuitema added five points.

But Kemp scored four straight points, and Overstreet drained another triple, followed by a Baril Mawo triple off the bench to rebuild the Norse lead to 41-28. And Overstreet knocked down another long shot on the final possession of the first half to make it 48-34.

The Raiders (15-7 overall, 4-5 MCCAA) made another run to start the second half. They scored eight straight points out of the gate to close the score to 48-42, and a Chris Coleman transition basket brought Grand Rapids to within 51-47 with plenty of time on the clock.

But Nelson hit a baseline runner to make it 53-47, Escanaba's Colin Hudson sank a triple, and Kemp went to work inside, and all of a sudden, it was 70-54. Then Creger cut to the lane for a basket, and then launched an open triple from the top of the key, and it was 75-55.

The icing on the cake was five straight points by Mawo off the bench, as he drained a triple, got a steal, went in and scored, to make it a 94-65 lead. Mawo scored ten points and grabbed eight rebounds off the bench as the Norse bench outscored the GRCC bench, 43-29.

"I think we just kept on bringing high intensity on defense," Creger said. "Getting them to miss shots and running up and down the floor, gettting easy baskets out of that. I think that's what sparked it."

Johnson wasn't surprised that GRCC made that run.

"They're good," he said. "They're really good. They came into this game with five or six losses and number three in the conference. For us to do what we did is a testament to our guys, and how hard we work. I'm proud of the guys. A heckuva team effort today."

Besides the 24-point performances by both Creger and Kemp, the Norse got 17 points, three assists, and three rebounds from Overstreet. Nine different Bay players scored, and the Norse shot 53 percent from the floor in the second half (18 of 34).

Bay also made 20 of 28 free throw attempts (71.4%) and drained seven of 21 triple tries (33.3%). They outrebounded the Raiders, 49-34, including 16-7 on the offensive glass.

GRCC, which started the season with eleven straight wins and has now lost seven of its last eleven games, got 16 points and five rebounds off the bench from Herman Brown. He nailed our triples. Danyel Bibbs had 11 points and Chris Coleman added ten.

GRCC stayed in a tie for third place in the North Division standings, however, when Kirtland College upset Delta College, 76-75, in Grayling. Both the Raiders and Delta sit at 4-5.

As for the Norse, they remain unbeaten at 9-0 in MCCAA play, and sit one game ahead of the Mid Michigan Lakers. The Lakers faced a challenge in Petoskey Saturday from the North Central Michigan Timberwolves before pulling way in the second half to win, 65-46.

Bay College will be at home Wednesday night against Alpena. The Lumberjacks are in last place with a 2-7 record, but they upset Muskegon, 68-57, on Saturday.

"They've won two out of their last three now, so they'll be coming here with some confidence," Johnson said. "We have to be ready. We can't overlook anybody in this league."

Wednesday's game starts at 7:30 and will be broadcast live on FM-106.3 and on-line at www.radioresultsnetwork.com.