ESCANABA, MI – The #19 ranked Bay College Men's Basketball Team (21-2, 8-0 MCCAA) pulled away in the second half to remain undefeated in conference play, beating the North Central Michigan College Timberwolves (6-14, 3-5 MCCAA) by a final score of 79-64.

The first half of the matchup was a back-and-forth slugfest that saw five ties and six lead changes.  North Central Michigan's Andrew Johnson (SO, Chicago, IL) hit a three at the 11-minute mark in the first half, putting the Timberwolves ahead by seven. 

The Norse answered back.  Ryan Sweeney (FR, Green Bay, WI) knocked down a shot from behind the arc and followed up with another basket at the rim, tying the game at 18.  After NCMC reclaimed the lead, Joshua Ofori (FR, Shakopee, MN) tied the game again, finishing a layup and then following that with a crowd-pleasing dunk to tie the game at 22.

Ofori struck again just before half, when tipped in a missed shot and was fouled on the attempt.  He finished off the three-point play at the free throw line, giving the Norse a 28-25 lead at halftime.

 The Norse would not surrender that lead for the rest of the game.  A four-minute stretch in the middle of the second half in which Bay held the Timberwolves scoreless sparked an 11-0 run and opened up a double-digit lead for the home team.

From that point on Bay was able to fend off every North Central attack.  The Timberwolves never cut the lead below 12 in the final stretch, and Bay wound up winning the game by 15 points.

Bay was able to gain an advantage by forcing 16 turnovers, while only turning the ball over six times.  The Norse outshot their opponents from the outside, hitting on seven of their 15 three-point attempts while NCMC only connected on two of their 15 attempts.  Bay also had the advantage at the charity stripe, hitting 14 of 24 attempts there, while NCMC was 12 of 15 from the free throw line.

Baril Mawo (SO, Manchester, NH) led the Norse with 19 points, five rebounds, and three steals.  Genesis Kemp (SO, Grand Rapids, MI) ended with 18 points and nine rebounds, while Ofori scored 16 points.  Sweeney ended up with 14 points.

Dai'Montae Rembert (SO, Gary, IN) had a double-double for the Timberwolves, finishing with 17 points and 11 rebounds.  Johnson finished with 14 points and four rebounds, while Jackson Wiegrink (FR, Holland, MI) had ten points and four rebounds off the bench.

The Norse will continue their conference schedule with a Saturday afternoon trip to Grand Rapids Community College.  Bay won the first matchup of the season on their homecourt by a final of 88-78.  Saturday's game is scheduled for a 3 pm tip off.