IRONWOOD, MI – The Bay College Norse (8-13) fought off an early surge from the Gogebic Community College Samsons (1-7) to get back in the "win column" after losing two straight.  The 89-72 win also completed a regular season sweep of their Region 13 and U.P. Rival.

The Samsons found a hot touch early and took advantage of some Norse turnovers to get off to a 12-4 lead. 

The Norse would eventually chip away and cut into the lead, but the Samsons' Marlen Williams kept the pressure on, keeping the game close early on.  Williams hit four of five attempts from three-point, and added four more buckets to score twenty points in the first half. 

Bay College settled in and took care of the basketball, allowing their offense to go to work.  They ended up hitting 50% of their shots from the field, including six of 17 from behind the three-point arc.  A late run put the Norse up 44-38 at the half.

The Norse continued to extend their lead in the second half as their strong shooting night continued.  They would slowly take control of the matchup as the night went on.  Although the Samsons stuck around, the Norse never really left the issue in doubt in the second half.

Bay shot 49.2% from the field in the game and hit 11 of 29 three-pointers.  They also went 14 of 19 from free throw for the game, which is a good sign as they have struggles at times from the charity stripe throughout the season. 

The Samsons shot better from the field in the second half, hitting 41.2% from the field, but were only able to connect on two of eight from three.  They were not able to get to the line enough to make a difference, hitting seven of ten from free throw.

The Norse spread the wealth and had five players score in double-digits in the game.  Matt Wagner (SO, Marinette, WI) led the way with 20 points and grabbed seven rebounds.  Marcus Johnson (FR, Iron Mountain, MI) hit three three-pointers off the bench and finished with 15 points and grabbed six rebounds and dealt out four assists.  Ashton Janke (FR, Dollar Bay, MI) and Didier Ngambo (FR, Detroit, MI) each had 13 points apiece, while Chris Dobessi (SO, Detroit, MI) pitched in 11 points and grabbed five rebounds.

Williams finished by hitting five of seven from three-point and totaling 31 points.  Yaser Khan added 11 points and four rebounds for the Samsons.

With the win, and Dakota County withdrawing from the Region 13 Sub-Region Tournament, the Norse will now host the Region 13 Tournament.  The dates of that will be April 2-4.

Bay will finish their regular season schedule on Saturday as they host Highland Community College.  That game will tip at 3 pm.