Click the thumbnails to see photos and video highlights, and to hear post-game comments from Kyle Hustrulid and Mohamed Madey, and from Coach Matt Johnson. Also click the AUDIO button to hear Taveon Vann's player spotlight interview.
IRONWOOD---The Bay College Norse men's basketball team played lockdown defense on the Upper Peninsula rival Gogebic Community College Samsons Tuesday night, holding the Samsons to just 47 points on 28.8% shooting, on the way to a 77-46 victory in Ironwood.
The Norse improved to 5-1 on the season with their second win over the Samsons in two weeks. Bay had balanced scoring in the game, with 12 of the 13 players who suited up scoring, and three men reaching double figures.
Six-foot-9 center Ziad Abouali had 16 points and eight rebounds, and Taveon Vann, who was named MCAA North Conference Player of the Week earlier in the day, scored 13 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
Emerson Droubie knocked down three triples on the way to 12 points.
“I think all of our guys played really, really hard, and I think that was the difference,” Norse Coach Matt Johnson said. “We're big, we're strong, we're athletic, we're deep, and we're finally starting to figure out how to play together. And we're starting to figure out how to play with some fire. If we continue on this track, our best basketball is ahead of us.”
Norse freshman Kyle Hustrulid was one of the most active players on the floor, despite scoring just two points.
“Kyle took a couple of charges, and he made a couple of great defensive rotations that don't show up on the stat sheet,” Johnson said. “He's smart. He's big, he's strong, he's athletic. He's always in the right spot, and good things happen.”
“I felt good, and I'm really thankful for my teammates who really uplift me,” Hustrulid said. “I know I need to step up offensively, especially my shooting numbers, but when I'm out there, I know I can control my attitude and effort. I really just want to make those little plays. Rebounds, diving on the floor, and one of my favorite things to do is taking charges. Coach pushes defense a ton. A huge part of it is just your energy and effort. And I know we can be better, too.”
The Norse also got a boost off the bench from Mohamed Madey, who knocked down a pair of triples and scored eight points in eight minutes of play.
“I know what I can do and my teammates know what I can do,” Madey said. “It's all about putting it all together and making Coach believe in me. I hit three's all the time, that's kind of what I do. It was nice to have my teammates cheering me on. We're kind of building a family here. I know I played a lot in high school, but roles change, so I'm fitting in to what I can at Bay College.”
“He's as good of a scorer as we have,” Johnson said. “Literally out of 17 guys, Madey can score as good as anybody. Once he really gets going and feels comfortable, that's going to give us one more weapon and make us even deeper.”
Bay led, 37-23, at halftime, after William Kelley got a steal and banked home an off-balance triple from well beyond the arch at the buzzer.
It was a miserable night for the Samsons, who had picked up a huge road victory over Rochester Community and Technical College earlier ine week. Ishpeming's Caden Luoma, who scored 24 points for the Samsons in the first meeting with the Norse, did not score a point Tuesday night.
Bryce Budney led GCC (4-5) with 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting. Ben Salkauskas was the other double-digit scorer with ten points.
It became a very long night for the Norse after the game, as a winter storm rolled into the western U.P. just as the team boarded the bus to come home. Snow-covered roads made for an extremely slow drive, and then, near Watersmeet, the wipers on the bus failed. Efforts to fix the wipers failed, so another bus had to be brought from Marquette to bring the Norse home.
The team arrived on the Escanaba campus at 5:50 in the morning on Wednesday.
Bay College (5-1) will enjoy the Thanksgiving break with some down time, and will return to practice on Sunday, ahead of another road trip the following weekend. Bay will head down to northern Illinois for two games on December 5th and 6th, against McHenry and Oakton Community Colleges.
