Click the thumbnails to see photos and videos from both Tuesday and Thursday games, and hear player spotlight interviews with William Kelley and Jakhi Richmond.
Also click the AUDIO button to hear post-game, season-ending comments from Norse Coach Matt Johnson.
FLINT---The Bay College Norse men's basketball team had their season come to an end on Thursday, falling to the Lansing Community College Stars, 81-64, in the NJCAA Region 12 tournament semifinals in Flint.
The Norse had beaten Kirtland Community College in the quarterfinals 36 hours earlier, 98-57, to earn their fourth straight trip to the regional final four. Bay was in complete control Tuesday, but that did not continue in Thursday's game against the Lansing Stars.
Bay battled early, with Trey Frye III scored 12 points in the first part of the game and William Kelley made a pair of triples. With 5:00 left in the first half, it was a 25-25 game. But things went downhill from there for the Norse.
Lansing outscored Bay, 12-3, to close the half with a 37-28 lead. Zander Woodruff, the second-leading scorer in the country, led the Stars with 13 first half points, and Lamont Green-Tolbert put down eight points with a triple and a pair of baskets in the paint.
Things did not improve in the second half for the Norse. Lansing outscored Bay, 21-4, in the first seven minutes, to go ahead, 58-32, and the Stars cruised from there.
Woodruff ended up with 26 points on 10-of-22 shooting from the floor for Lansing (23-7), which will play Henry Ford College in Saturday's regional championship game.
Green-Tolbert added 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting, and DeAndre Berry scored 16 points on 7-of-12 shooting. Lansing shot 51.5 percent from the floor, with multiple layups helping to boost those shooting percentages.
The Stars outrebounded the Norse, 42-35.
Bay College was led in scoring by Frye with 17 points and Droubie added 13. Bay struggled at the free throw line, making just nine-of-17 from the charity stripe.
The Norse end their season with a 23-7 record. Even with the loss, Bay still has a 100-24 record since joining the MCCAA. The team's nine-year record is 186-78.
On Tuesday, Bay College raced to a 28-10 lead halfway through the first half, and led, 57-23 at halftime. Emerson Droubie scored 28 points, with six three-point baskets, and Kyler Sager drained three triples and added 13 points off the bench.
Savion Johnson was tough inside, scoring nine points and grabbing a game-high 13 rebounds. William Kelley also scored 13 points, Frye added a dozen, and Ziad Abouali scored eleven points to complete five players scoring in double figures. KJ Hurt scored 17 and Elijah Clifford added 16 for Kirtland (7-20 overall).
