ESCANABA---It was a tale of two halves for the Bay College men's basketball team Wednesday night as they hosted the Sault College (Onario) Cougars at the YMCA Gym.
In the first half, the Norse moved the ball crisply on offense and played stronge defense, resulting in a 50-28 halftime lead. But in the second half, the Norse seemed to take their feet off the gas, and the Cougars made a big push before falling, 86-77.
Tyler Willette led all scorers with 24 points, and was the recipient of a number of nice passes into the post, especially in the first half. He made nine of the 12 shots he took from the field, along with six free throws. Willette also had nine rebounds.
Alfonzo Fields scored 13 points, including five free throws in the final minute that put the game away. Kobi Barnes had 14 points before fouling out with four minutes left.
Marcus McKenney also reached double figures, scoring 14 points, grabbing six rebounds and four assists. Jace Briggs contributed eight points off the bench.
The Norse led, 26-23, when Briggs canned a triple to make it a six-point lead, and that led to a 24-5 Bay College run to close the first half with that 50-28 advantage.
But Sault College (0-11) scored the first eight points of the second half, with Fafa Cessay attacking the basket and giving the Cougars some life. He ended up with 24 points.
The Cougars may have completed the comeback were it not for poor free throw shooting, as they made just sevn of 19 shots at the line.
Bay College was 21-for-30 at the line.
Sault College closed to within six in the final minute but could get no closer.
The Norse improved to 13-6 on the season, and are off until next Wednesday, when they travel to Ironwood to face Gogebic Community College. It will be Bay's fifth game on that court, having won all four games at a pair of tournaments (but not facing the Samsons) in December.
The game will be broadcast live on WMXG-FM (Maverick 106.3).
Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box above to see photos and videos, and hear post-game comments from Willette and McKenney.
In the first half, the Norse moved the ball crisply on offense and played stronge defense, resulting in a 50-28 halftime lead. But in the second half, the Norse seemed to take their feet off the gas, and the Cougars made a big push before falling, 86-77.
Alfonzo Fields scored 13 points, including five free throws in the final minute that put the game away. Kobi Barnes had 14 points before fouling out with four minutes left.
Marcus McKenney also reached double figures, scoring 14 points, grabbing six rebounds and four assists. Jace Briggs contributed eight points off the bench.
The Norse led, 26-23, when Briggs canned a triple to make it a six-point lead, and that led to a 24-5 Bay College run to close the first half with that 50-28 advantage.
But Sault College (0-11) scored the first eight points of the second half, with Fafa Cessay attacking the basket and giving the Cougars some life. He ended up with 24 points.
The Cougars may have completed the comeback were it not for poor free throw shooting, as they made just sevn of 19 shots at the line.
Sault College closed to within six in the final minute but could get no closer.
The Norse improved to 13-6 on the season, and are off until next Wednesday, when they travel to Ironwood to face Gogebic Community College. It will be Bay's fifth game on that court, having won all four games at a pair of tournaments (but not facing the Samsons) in December.
The game will be broadcast live on WMXG-FM (Maverick 106.3).
Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box above to see photos and videos, and hear post-game comments from Willette and McKenney.
