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Friday May 3, 2024
Norse Men End Regular Season With 85-57 Setback

Click te thumbnails to see pictures and videos, and to hear Joc Overstreet's player spotight interview.

OSHKOSH, Wis.---The Bay College Norse men’s basketball team closed the regular season on Tuesday with an 85-57 loss to the Bryant & Stratton Bobcats at the Menominee Nation Arena in Oshkosh. 

The game was played in the 4,200-seat arena that is home to the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks' "G-League" Wisconsin Herd team. Because the Herd had a game after Bay's, the Norse-Bobcats game was played under strict time constraints.

That didnt effect the outcome, though, as the Bobcats won their ninth consecutive game after an 8-11 start, and they led for nearly all 40 minutes of the game.

The Norse trailed by 12 at the half, 43-31, and Lamar Grayson scored two straight baskets to start the second half, bringing the Norse to within eight points. But the Bobcats went on an 18-6 run to put the game away with a 61-41 lead.

“We got it to eight, but didn’t do anything well after that,” Norse Head Coach Matt Johnson said. “We don’t finish well through contact. We shy away from it, and we’re kind of soft when it comes to that, to be honest."

"They hit some shots, we become a little bit tired. It is what it is. We just didn’t make enough plays.”

It was a homecoming for Bay’s Joc Overstreet, who played just a few miles from where he played his high school ball at Oshkosh West High School. He started the game with a triple to give the Norse the lead, and he added another triple and “and-one” basket to finish with nine points.

“It means a lot to me that some of my family members can come out, my parents, my grandparents, some of my friends, some of my teachers from high school, coming out to support me,” Overstreet said. “Just a lot of love. And I’m glad that this is our last game and it’s so close to home.”

One of Overstreet’s high school buddies, Brayden Ivory of Kaukauna, nailed five triples and scored 19 points for the Bobcats. And Malik Tidwell was all over the court, throwing down a game-high 21 points while also distributing the ball.

For the Norse, Marcus Harris, playing in his final regular season game for a third year, led the way with 14 points, knocking down four triples. Tre Burris added ten points, while Jaylen Flaniken and Lamar Grayson both had eight points.

Bay College finished its regular season with a 16-11 record, losing nine of their final 14 games after an 11-2 start.

Johnson says the guys have the ability to turn it around in the NJCAA Region 13 tournament Feb. 25-27 in Bismarck, N.D.

“We’ve got to be better, or we’re going to spend 26 hours (round trip) on a bus to North Dakota and watch the same thing happen,” Johnson said. “Hopefully, over the next seven-to-ten days, we can improve a little bit.”

That tournament begins with Gogebic Community College facing Dakota County-Bottineau (N.D.) on Friday. The Norse will take on the host United Tribes (N.D.) team in the regional semifinals on Saturday, Feb. 26, while Dakota County Technical College (Minn.) will face Friday night’s winner in the other semifinal.









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