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ON TOP OF THE WORLD: Bay Wins Championship
 Click the thumbnails to see photos and videos, and to hear post-game comments from Colin Hudson, Justin Nelson, Coach Matt Johnson, and College President Laura Coleman. Also click to hear Lamar Grayson's Sophomore Night interview.
The soon-to-be-retired Bay College president was handed a pair of scissors, and she, like those guys before her had done seconds before, took a turn at cutting down the net as dozens of people cheered loudly.
 The woman who made the decision six years ago to launch an athletic program on the Escanaba campus, deflecting criticism and skeptism along the way, smiled widely as the Norse won their first-ever Michigan Community College Athletic Association North Conference championship.
“They just wanted to make me cry, honest to goodness,” Coleman said. “What a sweet bunch of kids. They have played so beautifully together. They are such an amazing team. I am so proud of each and every one of them. It's been an amazing season, and it's been an amazing six years of watching them play.”
Coleman was able to hold back the tears, but the man that she hired to run the entire athletic department, and to be the basketball coach, Matt Johnson, couldn't hold back the tears of joy. He looked around at the people who swarmed to court to celebrate with his players, and the floodgates opened wide.
“This is just incredible,” Johnson said with a sniff. “For as much as there was going on in Delta County (other basketball games), man, I tell you what, this community has embraced us. Awesome. Really surreal. This is really cool. That was a heck of an effort by our guys. I'm so proud of our guys. I'm trying to hold it together right now and I'm not doing a very good job of it. But words can't express how proud I am of this group.”
 Sophomore center Justin Nelson had one of his best games in a Norse uniform, and he, too, was overwhelmed by the moment.
“I haven't won anything in high school,” Nelson, a West Iron County graduate said. “You know, I haven't won any districts or anything. This feels so amazing to me right now. Thank you, God! Thank you for everyone who came here and supported us. It's truly a blessing. I love everyone who supports Bay. I love all my teammates.”
It was also a special moment as well for freshman Colin Hudson, the Escanaba High School standout who had the chance to play elsewhere. He chose Bay, and Tuesday night, he got to help cut down the net with his older brother, Carter, with his friends and family filling the stands.
“It was amazing,” Hudson said. “I felt like I was back in a high school gym. The student section, I mean, man, if was fun. Just thank all my friends and my family. I feel pretty good right now.”
The game had as many ups and downs as a roller coaster, and with 150 combined points on the scoreboard, it came down to defense. The Norse stopped the Lakers twice in the final 9.1 seconds after Lamar Grayson split a pair of free throws that made it 76-74.
Mid Michigan, with a chance to win with a triple, went inside where they had mounted several comebacks during the second half.  The first effort was blocked by Colin Hudson with 3.1 seconds left, and then, the Lakers had no time outs left, ran a play to their big guy, Javal Lewis, Jr., on the baseline. Nelson got a piece of the inbound pass and Deion McLeod threw up a desperation shot at the buzzer that wasn't close.
“That's been our MO all season long,” Johnson said. “We've been one of the top ten defenses in the country.”
On the previous possession, Lewis blocked a shot taken by Hudson, but as the Lakers came up court looking for the lead, Nelson crushed a lay-up attempt by Makai McCombs.
“I wasn't gonna let that slide,” Nelson said of the block on his teammate. “I had to get my block in. I had to get my revenge. It was just the timing. Yeah, it was a big play, and we got the Dub.”
The game went back-and-forth all night long as the Lakers (21-6 overall, 11-2 MCCAA) refused to quit when the Norse build double-digit leads. Bay led, 29-19, in the first half, only to see the Lakers outscore Bay, 18-7, with guard Jayden Sims doing much of the damage as Mid-Michigan took a 37-36 lead into the halftime break.
 The Norse, though, came out on fire to start the second half. They went on a 14-0 run, capped off by a Hudson triple from the top of the key, making it a 50-37 Bay lead.
“I'd like to say that (Coach) Mike (Cretens), Jake (Polfus) and I can take the credit for that, but that's our guys,” Johnson said. “Man, I've got tears rolling down my cheeks. It's a really, really special group.”
The two teams traded baskets until midway through the second half, when Tyrel Creger got a steal and fed Nelson for a transition basket and foul. That put Bay back ahead by 13 again, this time, 65-52, with 8:47 left on the clock.
Once again, the Lakers made a push. Satchel Love had a huge second half, scoring 12 of his 17 points, including a hoop that tied the game at 71-71 with 2:49 left to play. And after a couple of free throws by Joc Overstreet put the Norse back in the lead, Lewis rebounded a missed shot for his second dunk of the game to retie the game at 73.
Overstreet made two more free throws to put the Norse in front, 75-73, and then with 23 seconds left to play, Lewis stepped to the line for two foul shots to try to tie the game for the Lakers. As the crowd roared, Lewis missed both free throws, and Creger got the loose ball on the floor, getting a time out to avoid an alternating possession tie-up.
 “The Sixth Man helped us win this game,” Johnson said. “The crowd noise that we were making when Lewis up at the free throw line at the end, it was huge. They helped to solidify this game. Shout-outs to all of them.”
Creger could have iced the game, but he missed the front end of a one-and-one, so Mid Michigan had another chance. That's when McLeod was fouled, made the first free throw, but in the deafening noise, missed the second, keeping it 75-74.
The Lakers fouled Lamar Grayson, and he split a pair of free throws, making it 76-74, heading into those final seconds when defense won the Norse a championship.
“We both missed big free throws late in the game,” Hudson said. “It just came down to who wanted it more. We had to come up with some defensive stops, and they missed that last spot. Honestly, I'm just glad we won. That's what we came here to do.”
“I don't really know how to say this any other way,” Nelson said. “We really just locked in. We do this in practice. We compete every single day, it's no different. We, all together as a group, locked in, and we got the job done.”
 Bay improved to 24-4 overall, winning their 15th straight game, and finished the conference regular season with a perfect 14-0 record. As usual, it was a total team effort, with five players scoring in double figures: Hudson with 18 points, Genesis Kemp off the bench with 13 points, Grayson and Creger with 12 apiece, and Nelson with ten.
Overstreet ended up with nine points, including those four clutch free throws at the end.
Mid Michigan badly outrebounded the Norse, 48-27. But Bay's defense forced the Lakers into 28 turnovers. The Norse made just ten turnovers. The Lakers made only 14 of 24 free throw attempts (58.3 %). Bay was 13-of-19 (68.4%) at the line.
Mid Michigan was led by Sims' 20 points and eleven rebounds. Love contributed 17 points, and Lewis had eleven rebounds to go along with his seven points. McCombs had 13 points, five rebounds, and two blocked shots.
It was a happy moment for Coleman, who worked with the Board of Trustees to bring back athletics as part of a “triangle of learning”. She enjoyed every moment Tuesday night as she prepares to retire as the second-longest serving president in Bay College history come June 30th. Even the trip up the ladder to cut down the net?
 “They actually had their hands on my back when I went up there,” Coleman said. “I said, for God's Sake, I'm 71 years old and I'm climbing a ladder. For them to be able to do this, this is something they're going to be able to carry with them for the rest of their lives.”
The journey continues, though, for the Norse. They will board a bus to the Motor City on Friday, to take part in the MCCAA Championship. This is the three conference champions: Bay College (North), Kalamazoo Valley (West), and Henry Ford (East).
The Norse, ranked 20th in the country, will face Kalamazoo Valley on Saturday on the campus of Henry Ford College in Dearborn. The winner of Saturday's game will face Henry Ford, the third ranked team in the country, on Sunday afternoon.
And then, the following week, regardless of what happens in Dearborn, the Norse will play in the NJCAA Region Twelve Tournament in Flint.
“I'm not ready for this to come to an end,” Johnson said. “Now we get to go down to Detroit at third point to play with the big dogs, now. And nobody deserves it more than these guys. It's not over. We have a lot more still to do.”
Game time for the Bay-Kalamazoo game is 3:00 on Saturday, with the Sunday game also scheduled for 3:00. The Norse games will be broadcast live on FM-106.3.  |
