The Norse finished their non-conference season with a 13-2 record, but it sure didn't come easy. Bay trailed, 33-29, after another sluggish first half performance that included making just six-of-13 free throws and missing three-of-four triple tries.

And the deficit got even larger out of the second half gate, with the Norse trailing, 39-29, before getting the wake-up call.

“I love this team and I love the fact that we're winning games, and we're doing what we're doing,” Norse Coach Matt Johnson said. “But we've got a chance to be really, really good. We just have to hold ourselves a little more accountable and be a little more locked in, because we're not going to love up to our potential if we have halves like we had tonight.”

Bay led, 18-17, midway through the first half before the Bobcats went on a spurt to put the Norse into a hole. Big guy Jaheem Tyson scored 12 points, and Karter Thomas nailed a triple to give the Bobcats a 33-24 lead, completing a 16-6 run for the visitors.

The Norse managed to score the final five points of the first half, three of them on a triple by Kairee Gadson as the clock ran out, making it 33-29 heading into the locker room. But a 6-0 Bobact run, capped by a Tyson basket, made it 39-29 early in the second half.

That's when Johnson went to the bench, bringing in three new players. One of them was Ezra Brown, and the move paid dividends, as Brown drained a triple to close the gap to 39-33.

And Brown continued to earn more and more playing time by playing strong defense, dishing out several assists, and giving the team a needed boost.

“Over the weekend, we just worked on a lot of defense, a lot of rotations,” Brown said. “We've got to be in the right spot at all times so we can get the stop and finish the game. We started getting down early, so I had to have a lot of hustle. We had to get a lot of stops. The first ten possessions, we only had one or two stops. That just can't happen. So I had to get out on their guards.”

Brown's play helped to turn the game around for the Norse. They trailed, 46-38, before his defense and passing keyed a huge 19-2 run that had Bay in the lead down the stretch, 57-48.

Genesis Kemp had three straight baskets during that run, and an Ibrahim Diakite slam dunk after a Norse steal gave them a 49-48 lead that they would not give up. Johnson was impressed with Brown's play, but says it shouldn't be such a big deal.

“Ezra played well,” Johnson said. “But that's got to be our expectation, not be surprised when it happens. And I think we were a little surprised that it happened because we didn't do it consistently enough. But, all in all, great effort.”

The Norse clamped down on the Bobcats as the second half wore on with defensive pressure that the visitors simply could not handle. Combined with increasing frustration with foul calls against them, the Bobcats fell behind by 12 points late in the game and could not get the deficit below seven points. Still, Johnson was impressed.

“That's a good team,” he said. “They're coached incredibly well and they run good stuff. They only had three losses coming in. We did a lot of good things. We just have to be more consistent. We've got to be better. But a win is a win. We'll take it.”

Ryan Sweeney led the Norse with 17 points and Kairee Gadson chipped in with 16 points. Kemp, as usual, was a spark plug off the bench with eleven points, and Nic Williams also chipped in eleven points as the Norse finished their best-ever non-conference stretch with a 13-2 record. The Bobcats, meanwhile, fell to 10-4.

Tyson led the visitors with a double-double of 18 points and ten rebounds before fouling out. Terrance McClendon had 13 points, and Thomas, a third-year player bouncing back from a season-ending injury a year ago, was limited to 12 points by a Norse defense that was committed to keeping him off of the scoreboard.

Both teams entered Monday's game ranked just outside of the national Top 20 poll, with the Norse at 22nd and the Bobcats at 23rd.

Bay College heads into the Michigan Community College Athletic Association North Conference season with a 13-2 record. The quest to defend last year's championship begins this Saturday with a home game against Grand Rapids Community College (8-6).

“We need to come out and have a couple of great practices leading up to Grand Rapids,” Johnson said. “That's the first one that really matters. We need to take care of business next Saturday.”

Game time is 3:00 and it will be broadcast live on WGMV-FM (Maverick 106.3).