Click the thumbnails to see photos and videos from the game, and to hear post-game comments from Kayden Travis and Coach Mike Cretens.
Also click the AUDIO button to hear Kyler Sager's player spotlight interview,
ESCANABA---It was a warm evening inside the Bay College Gym on Saturday, and much of the hot air came from the referee whistles as the Norse played the Itasca (Minn.) Vikings in the final game of Family Weekend. There were a combined 47 personal fouls called, leading to 69 free throw attempts.
The Norse made an incredible 34 of their 37 shots from the charity stripe as they improved to 2-0 on the season with a 98-84 victory.
“It was unbelievable,” Bay College Coach Mike Cretens said. “I think the worst thing about it was the inconsistency. It just kills the flow of the basketball game and makes it not as fun. We're not letting the players be players anymore when they take control like that. They have to keep it under control but let the flow happen. Call the obvious ones, because, I mean, both teams are getting frustrated, both teams are getting chippy.”
“It was crazy,” Norse point guard Kayden Travis said. “We kept our cool because we're a team. We're not worried about them. We stay together no matter what.”
Jayden Brown followed up his 30-point performance from Frday's win over Hibbing with 25 more points on Saturday. The majority of those points came from the free throw line, where he made all 15 of his free throw attempts. Travis added 20 points, and half of his points came from the foul line, where he made ten straight before missing his last one.
“I'm mad about that,” Travis said with a grin. “I'm in the gym every night, getting free throws up. Coach stays on us for getting those shots up, every week. I stay on top of that and make sure I hit all of my free throws to make sure I'm staying prepared for game time.”
“That is incredible,” Cretens said. “Ninety-two percent from the free throw line will really help in the future. And Kayden Travis was our starting point guard until he got hurt at the Northern Michigan exhibition game. I thought he was really solid yesterday, and he was even better today. He's really sound with the basketball and he's really fast.
Bay also got a boost off the bench from Marquette native Kyler Sager, who drained a pair of triples in the first half and dove to the floor to get two steals on consecutive plays.
“He's getting better and better,” Cretens said. “He got his knee scoped this summer so when he got to us, he was not in the best of shape. But he's taking it day by day and now he's doing the dirty stuff that he wasn't doing last year. He's not just a shooter anymore. He's getting dirty, diving on the floor, getting rebounds. If you're doing that consistently and you're hitting outside shots, you're gonna get some minutes. We need more guys that are going to do that consistently, give the effort, be the first to the floor.”
“It was rough (last year), kind of a roller coaster with injuries and sickness,” Sager said. “Got me knee cleaned up over the summer so I'm back, better than ever. I talked with Coach Cretens (over the summer) and trusted his play style, we're pretty close.”
“And having Kyle (Hustrulid) and Connor (Coduti), Trevor (Nolan), and Emerson (Droubie) back, it obviously helps a lot. Mike's more defense, for sure, but get out and go, too. The play style is kind of the same, so I can come in and shoot, and give the team a spark.”
The Norse sprinted to a huge 25-point lead (46-21) with 4:46 left in the first half. But the lead dwindled as the fouls piled up in those less-than five minutes, with Itasca closed to within 56-48 at the half, outscoring Bay, 27-10, heading into the locker room.
“I was just getting so frustrated,” Cretens said. “They just wouldn't let the flow of the game happen. These are 18-year-old kids and it was hard to get re-focused. I got more animated than I should have today, but I don't know what else to do. I'm competitive and I'm trying to win a basketball game, and it was just so inconsistent. We got up by 24 in the first half and there were many, many possessions where they just wouldn't blow the whistle. So that allowed them (Itasca) to just creep, creep, creep, back into the game.”
The Vikings closed to within four at 61-57 five minutes into the second half, and had a couple of chances to get closer before the Norse turned the tide back in their favor. Bay went on an 11-2 run to go up 72-59, with Travis giving the team a big spark.
Besides Brown's 25 points and Travis's 20, the Norse also got 14 points from Damonte Duncan as he reached double figures for a second straight game. He also had eight rebounds. Droubie contributed nine rebounds to go along with his eight points, and Hustrulid, filling in for the injured Caleb Johnson (ankle) had eight points and six boards.
Itasca (0-2) got 19 points from Isael Moronta-Mendez, and 18 points from Yaseff Aikens. Khalil Hudgins contributed 12 points off the bench.
Bay College heads to Detroit for two games against two national powerhouses next weekend. The Norse will face Henry Ford in Dearborn, the second-ranked team in the country in the NJCAA-II pre-season poll. And then on Saturday, it's a battle in the north suburbs against the Macomb Monarchs, who are usually ranked but are not right now.
“We're really going to find out where we're at in the region next weekend,” Cretens said. “We'll go into next week and give them everything we've got.”
