Click the thumbnails to see photos and video highlights. Click the AUDIO buttons to hear post-game comments from Taveon Vann, Trevor Nolan, and Coach Matt Johnson. Also click to hear player spotlight interviews with Kyler Sager and Drake Johnson.
ESCANABA---The Bay College Norse men's basketball team settled for a split at their weekend tournament, beating Glen Oaks Community College, 94-75, before losing to 16th-ranked Milwaukee Area Technical & Community College, 91-78.
The result left the young Norse team with an 8-2 record, heading into next Saturday's game in Minnesota against Dakota County.
“If you had told me at the beginning of the season that we'd have two losses at this point, I would have been pretty happy,” Norse Head Coach Matt Johnson said. “I'm not mad at the guys for today (MATC loss). I'm not upset. The guys played hard. I think we can walk out of the gym with our heads held up high, and feeling pretty good about ourselves. We've just got to get better. Use this for what it is: a learning tool to improve.
“Right now, we're just a hair short of where we want to me, and where I think we can be,” Johnson said. “Our approach has to tighten up across the board to be at a championship level. We've got to get that championship mentality.”
In the Friday win, the first half saw the Vikings take small leads until about midway through the half. That's when Trevor Nolan got hot, knocking down three triples, and Taveon Vann threw down eleven points, including a slam dunk that got the crowd onto its feet. Bay College led at halftime, 45-38.
The Norse gradually pulled away in the second half, taking leads as big as 24 points before settling for the 19-point victory.
Nolan knocked down five triples and ended up with 17 points.
“It's so fun to get a win like that,” Nolan said. “Once I get one (triple), I know the next one's gonna go in, and the same with the next one after that, Coach gave us a good halftime speech and we were able to come out in the second half and execute better. More energy. He expected more out of us, and we performed better in the second half.”
Vann had a double-double with 19 points and ten rebounds.
“We had to play with a chip on our shoulders,” said Vann, who was 9-of-12 from the floor and was a force inside. “I practice on it a lot, that's what I specialize the most. I love playing inside. It gives me a better chance to break down the defense, attract attention to me, and so I can get my teammates open.”
Emerson Droubie added 16 points and five rebounds, and Trey Frye III was dominant at the point guard position with 14 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists.
“In my opinion, Trey was the MVP of the game,” Johnson said. “I'm really hoping this is a coming-out party for Trey, because he's been good for us so far this year, but tonight, he was great for us. Proud of the kid. He played really, really well.”
Jordan Lomax led the Vikings (7-4 overall) with 22 points, and Joreim Lomax added 15 points and eight rebounds. Amauri Moore chipped in nine points and ten rebounds.
On Saturday, an old rivalry was renewed as the Stormers and fiery head coach Randy Casey came to town. This was an up-tempo game that saw the Norse come from behind several times only to see the Stormers answer with runs of their own.
The Stormers jumped off to a 26-14 lead as Turon Rivers got going inside and Noah Daniels hit three triples. But Bay went on a 18-6 run to take a 35-32 lead, as Droubie made three straight triples and Adam Page hit a triple and drove to the basket twice.
But Milwaukee closed the half on a 12-2 run of its own and led 44-37 at the break.
In the second half, Bay went on an 11-2 spurt, fueled by a pair of William Kelley triples, giving the Norse a 48-46 lead. But back came MATC again, opening up an eight-point lead, before the Stromers were given two technical fouls on the same play. One of them was on Casey, who had also received a technical in the first half, so he was ejected.
Kelley sank all four free throws, bringing the Norse to within three at 62-59.
But MATC again had the answer with a 12-0 run as Rivers went to work inside again, alomg with Dre Washington.
Then Jayden Hackett got hot from behind the three-point line. The former Delta College standout nailed five triples and capped it off with an alley-oop slam dunk.
MATC had its lead grow to 19 points at 88-69 before the Norse knocked down a couple of late shots to close the deficit to the final of 91-78.
Page led the Norse in scoring with 20 points, while Kelley chipped in 19 points on three triples and eight straight free throws. Droubie was outstanding, posting a double-double of 14 points and eleven rebounds. And Frye was good for a second straight day, putting in 12 points, dishing out seven assists, and pulling down eight rebounds.
MATC (11-3 overall) was led by Hackett's 23 points, which included five triples. Rivers had 19 points, sparked by eight-of-ten shooting from the floor, and he had 13 rebounds for a resounding double-double. Daniels drained five triples and scored 19 points.
Bay College now heads to the Twin Cities to renew another old rivalry with the Dakota County Technical Community College Blue Knights. The Norse had wars every year with the Blue Knights when Bay was in NJCAA Region 13 with DCTC, and after a one-year hiatus in the series, they'll play again next Saturday. This time, there will be a little more spice, with two former Bay College players: D'Marco Chelley and Parker Fahning suiting up for DCTC. They are both averaging double figures in scoring as Knights.
“I think they're really good,” Johnson said. “They've got two guys who played here last year that are gonna have a chip on their shoulders and want to prove to us that they're better than us. We need to make sure we come ready to battle. Peter (Olafeso) is a great coach. Dakota County is a good team. Parker and D'Marco will be ready to play.”
Saturday's game tips off at 3:00 ET/2:00 CT and it will be broadcast on FM-106.3.
