NIC COMES THROUGH: Williams Clutch For Bay

IRONWOOD---Nic Williams scored a game-high 27 points, including the triple that clinched the game in the final minute, as the Bay College Norse beat the Gogebic Community College Samsons, 86-80, Tuesday night in Ironwood.

The Norse led by as many as 20 points, and led by 18 points with six minutes left, before the Samsons staged a furious comeback on a night where they honored their longtime coach by naming the Lindquist Center basketball court after him.

The Norse looked ready to cruise to victory when Williams, Ryan Sweeney, and Joe Ofori all scored as part of a big run that gave the Norse a 52-39 lead. D'Marco Chelley followed with a layup (after missing a dunk), and Mykel Lindsey scored on a dribble drive to make it 59-43. And later, Tre Saniger nailed a triple, giving Bay a 69-56 lead.

When Zavier Hayes saved the ball on one foot, took a pass, and nailed a triple, it looked like "lights out" for the Samsons. At thet point, Bay led, 74-56. with less than seven minutes on the clock. But Gogebic was far from done.

The rally went into high gear when St. Ignace graduate Kevin Frazier drained a triple from the top of the key, bringing the Samsons to within 76-65. Then Enrique Bautista drained a couple of triples, cutting the Norse lead to single digits at 80-73.

Williams sank a mid-range jumper from the baseline to restore a nine-point lead, but the Samsons kept battling. X'Zavion McCoy scored two of his team=high 23 points in the lane, and that brought the Samsons to within 83-80.

But that's when the veteran Norse came through. Ofori found Williams open on the wing, and the sophomore connection cae through with a huge three-pointer that gave Bay an 86-80 lead, and that's the way it ended.

The Norse shot the ball well from the field, hitting 53.8% of their shots and were nine of 36 from three. They did leave some points on the free throw line, converting just seven of 14 attempts.

Gogebic was 43.9% shooting overall and made 11 of 28 attempts from behind the arc. They struggled from the charity stripe as well, making ten of 19 attempts.

Williams led all scorers and shot the ball incredibly well for Bay. He was 11 of 14 overall, including four of five from three on his way to 27 points and three assists. Chelley added 13 points and four steals. Joe Ofori (SO, Shakopee, MN) was just shy of a double-double, ending with nine points and grabbing 14 rebounds.

McCoy (FR, Ocala, FL) had a good night for the Samsons, scoring 23 points, grabbing seven rebounds, and had six assists, and three steals. Cori Johnson (SO, Ocala, FL) had 15 points and five assists, while Enrique Moreno-Bautista (FR, Clearwater, FL) finished with 11 points and nine rebounds. Kaden Vardon (FR, Algoma, WI) had ten points.

--Bay SID Mike Pankow contributed to this report