FLINT, Michigan---The Bay College Norse Men's Basketball team made 14 three-point baskets and rolled to a 91-65 win over Glen Oaks Community College in the NJCAA Region 12 District semifinals Friday night at the Ballenger Fieldhouse in Flint.
The Norse led from start to finish in the game, and 11 of the 13 guys who suited up scored. Bay mad just under 46% of its shots from the floor (31-of-68), including an incredible 43.8% from three-point land (14-of-32).
Bay got three-point baskets from Lamar Grayson, Justin Nelson, Tyrel Creger, Joc Overstreet, and Colin Hudson in a seven-minute onslaught that saw the Norse take a 25-13 lead against the Vikings zone defense.
"We shot the ball really, really well, and it made them change what they wanted to do against us," Norse Coach Matt Johnson said. "Just a great team effort. Everybody who was in uniform saw the floor for at least a couple of minutes. I'm just proud of this group. They deserve this. They deserve this opportunity on Sunday (in the regional championship game)."
Before the first half was done, Overstreet nailed four triples by himself, and he dished an alley-oop dime to Nelson for a slam dunk. The Norse led, 38-25, at halftime.
"That's a great confidence boost for Joc," Johnson said. "And it helped the rest of our guys get the looks that they wanted to get."
"It was good to come in and just play loose," Overstreet said. "This is the last opportunity for us sophomores. We ain't got nothing to hold back. We've just got to go out there and have fun, and do what we do since we've been little kids. It was a pretty good shooting night for us, and I feel it was an overall good game for us."
The Vikings scored the first two baskets of the second half by Caleb Byrd to cut the gap to 38-29. But the Norse dominated from there, going on a 18-4 run to take a commanding 56-33 lead midway in the second half. Creger and Grayson both knocked down triples during that run, and Hudson swished his second triple.
The highlight was a sweet pass from Hudson to his older brother Carter for a baseline lay-up, just like they did together in an Escanaba Eskymos uniform.
And down the stretch, everybody got in on the act, with Michael Foust draining a triple and Cade LaFavor scoring on the baseline in the final minutes. And the Norse got an emotional boost from Jaylen Flaniken, who has missed four games with a leg injury, but came back to play ten minutes and score five points in Friday night's game.
"It's a blessing," Flaniken said. "We (he and cousin Jahlani Thornton) went home last week to Detroit and I wasn't able to play. That bothered me a lot. Not even being able to play even one minute. I'm glad that Coach trusted me and put me out there for a few minutes. I'm glad I was able to do something to make my family proud."
"You can't say enough good things about Jaylen Flaniken," Johnson said. "He's a leader, and he gets everybody to play locked-in, play their best, and be their best. It was tough to see him go down with that injury. He's not back to full speed, but he looked all right out there."
"I needed some heat on my leg," Flaniken said. "I've been icing it a lot, and stretching it out. That's pretty much all I can do. It's been a few weeks. It hasn't fully healed. But I'm just praying that it can get better tomorrow for Sunday's game."
The Norse had four players score in double figures, led by Grayson with 18 points (three triples). Overstreet had 16 points (four three's), Creger added 13 points (5-of-7 shooting from the floor) and Genesis Kemp chipped in 13 points (9-of-12 on free throws).
Bay had a 46-31 rebounding advantage, and had 14 assists as a team.
Glen Oaks had its season end with a 13-16 record. The Vikings were led by big man DeAndre Francis with 14 points, five rebounds, and four assists. Byrd added 13 points off the bench. Their leading scorer, Daivion Boleware, was held to nine points on 4-of-13 shooting from the floor, with Creger doing much of the work defensively.
Bay College improved to 26-5 on the season. The 20th-ranked Norse will face the 19th-ranked Mott Community College in the Regional 12 District A championship game Sunday afternoon, on the Mott Bears' home floor.
The winner of that game will earn a spot in the NJCAA Division Two National Tournament. If the Norse win, it will be their first-ever national tournament appearance. Mott has won four national championships under legendary Coach Steve Schmidt.
"It's a great challenge and it's a great opportunity for us," Overstreet said. "We've got to come ready and energized, and just know what it is: survive and advance."
"They're really physical and they're really strong," Johnson said. "They have arguably the best coach in junior college basketball. You see the banners hanging here. Four national championships. 700 and some odd-number wins. They're on their home floor with their fans. One game away from going to Danville for the national tournament. It doesn't get any better than that. I just hope that our good is good enough."
Sunday's game will tip at 3 pm.
Story and photo courtesy of Jack Hall, RRN Sports