ESCANABA, MI – The Bay College Norse Men's Basketball Team (11-7) saw a second half lead slip away as the Bryant and Stratton (WI) Bobcats (8-10) managed to extend the Norse losing streak to five games, handing them a 76-70 loss.
The game ended up being an exciting back-and-forth affair that featured 16 lead changes and 14 ties. The biggest lead by either team in the first half was three points.
Bay shot the ball well in the opening frame, hitting ten of 21 attempts from the floor and getting to the free throw line 15 times, missing just twice. Though the Bobcats did not match the shooting percentage of their host, hitting just 36.4%, quantity over quality kept them in the game, as they had 33 attempts. Bryant and Stratton shot just five free throws in the first half, but the Norse turned the ball over six times.
The Norse held a slim 36-34 lead at the half.
The narrative did not change in the second half as the two teams traded blows. Bryant and Stratton built a five-point lead midway through the period, but Bay had an answer. Jacquez Overstreet (SO, Appleton, WI) scored on a jumper and three-pointer in consecutive possessions to tie the game up again.
After a Bobcat basket, it was the Norse's turn to build a lead. An 8-0 run put Bay up by six, but Malik Tidwell (SO, Chicago, IL) responded for Bryant and Stratton, hitting a shot from behind the arc the very next possession, and burying a jumper after a defensive stop.
The Norse held on to the lead though, and would continue to over the next four minutes of gameplay, extending it to five at one point. They were clinging to a four-point lead with just over three minutes to play when Tidwell helped the Bobcats change momentum. He hit on yet another three-pointer to cut the lead to within one, and then split a pair of free throws tying the game.
Jaylen Flaniken (FR, Troy, MI) buried a three with just under three minutes putting the Norse up 67-64, but the offense would sputter in the waning minutes. The Bobcats went on a 7-0 run and the next Norse basket would be a three-pointer from Marcus Harris (SO, Brimley, MI) that pulled Bay to within four. With just 17 seconds left at that point, the home team was forced to foul to try and extend the game, but Bryant and Stratton was good from the charity stripe to seal a six-point victory.
The Norse ended with five players in double-digits. Aloung Kang (FR, Apple Valley, MN), Overstreet, and Tre Burris (FR, Milwaukee, WI) all scored 13 points in the contest. Kang grabbed eight rebounds, while Overstreet had six rebounds and four assists. Harris added 12 points off the bench and Flaniken ended up with ten points and seven rebounds.
Tidwell was five of nine from three-point and was the driving force behind the Bobcat offense, totaling 24 points on the day. Quintin Winterfeldt (SO, Fond du Lac, WI) grabbed seven rebounds.
The game was delayed late in the first half due to a medical emergency with a member of the officiating crew.
Bay will look to get back to their winning ways on Wednesday when they travel to U.P. and Region 13 rival Gogebic Community College. That game is scheduled for an 8 pm tipoff.