UNIVERSITY CENTER, MI – The Norse Men's Basketball Team (15-4, 5-0 MCCAA) had to overcome a myriad of obstacles on Saturday afternoon, some self-inflicted, but they were able to hang on and defeat the Delta College Pioneers (4-13, 2-3 MCCAA) by a final score of 100-90.
The Norse went on the road and entered into a hostile environment and didn't do themselves any favors to start the contest. Bay came out flat and lacked energy to start and allowed the Pioneers to grab an early lead.
The low point for the road team came midway through the first half. Trailing by three, the Norse struggled to answer their opponent, and Delta would go on a 16-5 run that would give them their biggest lead of the game at the seven-minute mark, and it looked as though the home team would take control with a 34-20 score.
Bay turned the tide from that point on. They answered with an 11-2 run that cut in the deficit. The Norse continued to fight, and with just over a minute left in the half Baril Mawo (FR, Manchester, NH) tied the game with a three. After a pair of Pioneer free throws, Tyrel Creger (FR, Owatonna, MN) answered with a three of his own in the final seconds of the half, which allowed the Norse to take their first lead of the game at 46-45.
The Norse continued to build the lead to start the second half, and have a double-digit advantage with 13 minutes remaining in the game.
Foul trouble started to plague the Norse at this point. Jaylen Flaniken (SO, Troy, MI), Colin Hudson (FR, Escanaba, MI), Justin Nelson (SO, Iron River, MI), Mawo, Jacquez Overstreet (SO, Appleton, WI), and Genesis Kemp (FR, Grand Rapids, MI) all had to take a seat at some point, as the physical nature of the game started to take its toll on their foul totals. It ended up being a major contributor to the Norse seeing the 15-point lead they held at the midway point of the second half dwindle.
The talented and gritty Delta squad was another important factor in the game becoming pretty tense in the final stretch. With just under seven minutes to play Jacob Carlson (SO, Grand Blanc, MI) knocked down a shot from behind the three-point arc, cutting the Norse lead to just six. Minutes later Travis Pourciau (SO, Jacksonville Beach, FL) connected on a jump shot, making the score 90-87 in favor of the Norse.
The Norse defense stepped up in the final three plus minutes. After Mawo answered with a basket of his own, the road team was forced to get three stops before being able to put the game away. After Creger extended the lead to seven, he would help create the third Pioneer turnover in a 90 second stretch with a steal. He found Lamar Grayson (SO, Richfield, MN) in transition, and the Norse led 96-87.
Delta would get an "and one" three-point possession on the next trip down, but Bay sealed the game with baskets by Creger and Mawo on the final two possessions, stealing a hard-fought ten-point victory on the road.
Bay's offense has been impressively efficient in conference play, with this being the third out of five games that they shot over 50% for the game. They ended up with a 56.5% shooting percentage and were nine of 16 from three. While Delta had a distinct rebounding advantage, 34-24, the Norse forced their hosts into 20 turnovers while giving it up just ten times.
There were 49 personal fouls and three technical fouls (all on Delta College) called in the contest. That led to Bay going to the line 33 times (they were successful on 21 attempts), and Delta getting 35 attempts from the charity stripe (they made 24 of them).
The reigning MCCAA Northern Conference Player of the Week Lamar Grayson led all scorers with 30 points. He also had four assists and two steals. Mawo was a big contributor off the bench and ended with 16 points, while Creger had 14 points, four rebounds, and three assists. Overstreet finished with 12 points, four rebounds, and five assists, while Nelson added ten points and six rebounds.
For the Pioneers it was Pourciau leading the way with 28 points and six rebounds. Carlson added 17 points while Jermaine Lawrence (SO, Tallahassee, FL) added 16 points, eight rebounds, five assists, and two blocks.
The Norse will take their undefeated conference record into a home matchup with Kirtland Community College, who was set to host Grand Rapids at the same time Bay played at Delta. Results of the Kirtland-Grand Rapids game were not reported at the time of this publication, but the Firebirds entered that contest with a 1-9 record overall and a 1-3 conference record in their first year as a program. They will make the trip to Escanaba on Wednesday for a 7 pm start.