ESCANABA, MI – The Bay College Norse Men's Basketball Team (12-8) nearly pulled off a major upset as they took the number one ranked team in NJCAA Division 2 down to the wire. The South Suburban Bulldogs (15-0) stayed undefeated on the season and escaped Escanaba with a 74-60 win.
The Norse hung with South Suburban punch-for-punch in what turned out to have all of the elements of a heavy weight bout. South Suburban held the early advantage, but the Norse stayed within striking distance.
Just under the ten-minute mark in the first half, Marcus Harris (SO, Brimley, MI) hit a pair of free throws to make the score 17-16 in favor of the Bulldogs. After a quick stop, Harris gave Bay their first lead with a big three. SSC took it back, but the Norse responded again. Jacquez Overstreet (FR, Appleton, WI) hit from deep, putting Bay up 22-20.
Overstreet led the Norse to an offensive outburst to end the half. He converted at the rim on the next possession and finished the half with another triple. Meanwhile the only points the Bulldogs would score in the last 7:30 were three free throws.
South Suburban College, who averages 92.7 points per game, scored just 22 points in the first half, and Bay College led 27-22 at intermission.
The second half began much the way the game did, with two teams trading blows. Bay frustrated the South Suburban attack again in the second half. After they got a big three to go up 29-27, they would go silent from the field again. Over four minutes would pass before they made a shot, giving Bay a 40-30 lead.
The Bulldogs found their stride at that point, putting the Norse in an all out fight to hold their lead. An SCC run tied the game at 42 with 11 minutes to play.
After another period of back-and-forth Bay clung to a 50-47 lead with just eight minutes left. An 11-2 run put the Bulldogs in the lead, but Gavin Gothard (FR, St. Paul, MN) buried a three-pointer to make the score 58-55 in favor of South Suburban with 3:55 to play.
At that point it looked as though South Suburban would run away with the game. Damarco Minor (FR, Harvey, IL) hit a pair of three-pointers and a free throw, and with 2:37 remaining, gave his team a ten-point lead.
The Norse had one last fight in them. Overstreet hit one from behind the arc, and Harris was good on a pair from the charity stripe, pulling the home team to within five. A long possession on the next trip sapped the clock, and with the Bulldogs up seven, it was desperation mode with under a minute to play. Bay missed on some opportunities and SSC was six of seven from free throw in the final minute to seal the win.
South Suburban has been shooting 53.2% from the field so far this season but was held to 43.6% in this contest. The Norse shot a touch below their season average at 37.0% but were nine of 18 from three-point on the day.
Overstreet was three of four from three-point, leading to his 17 points to go along with five rebounds and four steals. Harris hit four shots from behind the arc out of seven attempts and tallied 16 points and five rebounds. Tre Burris (FR, Milwaukee, WI) ended his day with 13 points and six rebounds, while Gothard hit a pair from deep and had 11 points and five rebounds.
Minor led the Bulldogs with a double-double, scoring 20 points and grabbing 11 rebounds, and dealing out four assists. Nmesomachi Nnebedum (SO, Kalamazoo, MI) hit five three-pointers and ended with 17 points, while Camron Donatlan (SO, Aurora, IL) had 14 points.
The Norse get back to Region 13 play in a critical matchup with Dakota County Technical College. Bay lost the first matchup 106-74 on January 5, and a win to even up the series puts the Norse back in the mix to host the Sub-Regional Tournament. That game on January 24 is scheduled for 7 pm.