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DREAM SEASON ENDS: Norse Fall In Title Game
 Click the thumbnails to see pictures and videos from the game, and to hear post-game comments from Justin Nelson and Coach Matt Johnson. Also hear Lamar Grayson and Cade LaFavor player spotlight interviews.
The 20th-ranked Norse got off to a strong start, but couldn't sustain it, and lost to Mott Community College, 88-69, Sunday evening at the Ballenger Fieldhoue on Mott's campus in Flint. The win in the Region 12 District Championship Game sends the 18th-ranked Bears into the national tournament in Danville, Ill.
 Mott will be trying to win its sixth national championship later this month, and the fifth under legendary coach Steve Schmidt, who is closing in on 800 career wins in 34 years.
But for the Norse, an empty feeling, as the best season in the six-year history of the program ended with a 26-6 overall record.
“This is never easy, this 'last time' with these guys,” Bay College Coach Matt Johnson said. “My heart breaks for the guys that are done. Those sophomores. This is the last time they get to wear a Bay College uniform. We're going to miss them deeply. They have put us in a really good spot as a program. They helped us take a huge step.”
Bay College finished as MCCAA North Conference champions with a perfect 14-0 record, finished as runners-up for the MCCAA Championship, and runners-up in the NJCAA Region 12 District-A tournament.
“Obviously, we're all disappointed about how this one ended up, but what an awesome year we had,” Johnson said. “What a great group of kids. They have nothing to hang their heads about. They should be proud of the season that we had.”
 The Norse lost despite a career game from sophomore center Justin Nelson. The West Iron County graduate scored 27 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Those are numbers he hasn't put up since his high school days. Nelson was overwhelmed with emotion as he spoke after Sunday's game ended and Mott celebrated another regional crown.
“I gave everything to this school, my heart,” Nelson said. “You win some, you lose some, but this is tough. The losses hurt a lot more than the wins feel good. They were good. They were hitting some tough shots. We fought back a little bit, but it just wasn't enough.”
Early on, it looked like the Norse might be the ones to run away with this game. Bay controlled the tempo, played strong defense, grabbed rebounds, and scored both inside and outside. Nelson took a Tyrel Creger pass and threw down a two-handed slam dunk to put the Norse in front, 6-4, and he added another basket with a strong drive through the middle of the lane, getting fouled in the process.
Lamar Grayson scored twice on dribble-drives and spin moves, and Genesis Kemp came off the bench to score inside the paint. When Joc Overstreet nailed a three-point basket from NBA distance, the Norse had built a 21-9 lead.
But after a Bears time out, they turned the game completely around, tying the game at 30-30 with three minutes to go in the half.  The Norse regained the lead at 32-30 when Carter Hudson scored on the baseline, but the Norse went cold from there, and got outscored 11-0 in the final minutes heading into halftime, with Trucel Singleton's three-point basket giving them their first lead at 33-32.
Mehki Ellison scored a killer of a basket with one second left in the half as he got the ball near the sideline and streaked to the baseline, finishing with a pretty one-handed lay-up. That happened after the Norse missed two opportunities at the other end. It was 43-32 at halftime.
The Norse responded coming out of the locker room, however. Creger started the comeback with a three-pointer, but Ellison answered with a triple of his own, making it 46-35, and a free throw gave the Bears a 47-35 lead. From there, the Norse scored ten straight points, with Nelson getting six of them. When Grayson made two free throws with 14:52 left in the game, the Norse had closed to within two at 47-45.
But Bay went cold again, with empty trip after empty trip putting them back into the hole they had just climbed out of. Nate Brown got hit, hitting three jumpers, including a triple, and it was a 9-0 run that put Mott back ahead by eleven, 56-45.
Things got worse for Bay when Overstreet and Creger both picked up their fourth fouls, and the Bears' defensive pressure got to the Norse without those two on the floor.
 Colin Hudson, meanwhile, had a game to forget, missing all eight of the shots that he took from the floor. And Jaylen Flaniken, playing as best he could on a fractured leg, hustled for a rebound and scored a lay-up in the paint. As soon as he scored, he fell to the floor in severe pain, with the injury made worse on that play.
And Mott had a field day from there, even after Johnson brought Overstreet and Creger back into the game with 5:02 left. By that time, Bay was down, 73-59, and they both eventually fouled out of the game.
“They're physical, they execute really well, and they wore us down,” Johnson said. “We were up 12 with 12:20 left in the half, and in that last 12:20, it was a 23-point swing. We just didn't make the plays that we needed to make, and they did. It's a tough pill to swallow. Mott was the better team.”
It was the biggest game on the biggest stage for Nelson, who made 10 of the 17 shots he took from the floor, and he drained seven of his nine free throw attempts.
“My number one thought was to get the ball and score,” Nelson said. “When everything's on the line, you play a lot harder, and that's what I did.” For Mott, Ellison scored 24 points, making 7-of-13 field goals and nine of his 11 free throw attempts. He was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.
Brown had 18 points (14 of them in the second half), and Damarcies Moore added a double-double of eleven points and eleven rebounds.
Besides Nelson's 27 points and seven rebounds, Grayson added 15 points and Creger added eight points and four assists. Kemp contributed seven points and grabbed six rebounds. Nelson and Grayson were named to the All-Tournament Team.  |
