PALATINE, Ill. — The Bay College men’s basketball team started strong, then held off a second half rally attempt by Harper Community College for an 89-71 road win Saturday.

The Norse (4-3) led 42-30 at the half before the Hawks (1-6) cut their deficit to 54-48 in the early stages of the second half.

Marcus Harris and Austin Forbes then each hit big 3-pointers to help push the lead to 67-51, and the Norse would roll from there.

“Our bench stepped up big for us today and provided us with great energy when we needed it,” Norse coach Matt Johnson said. “I’ve said all along that our strength is our depth and our bench proved that today. It was a great effort and a great team win.”

Chris Dobessi led the Norse with 15 points, while Christian Alexander added 14 and Tristan Masuga chipped in with 12. Forbes and Masuga each hit two triples.

Keyondae Johnson led all scorers with 20 points for the Hawks, while Michael Nowakowski added 13.

The Norse host Alpena Community College tonight at 7:30.

Bay College 42 47 — 89

Harper College 30 41 — 71

Bay College — Dobessi 15, Alexander 14, Masuga 12, Robinette 9, Mattson 8, Forbes 8, Wagner 7, Contreras 4, Yohe 4, Harris 3, Fleming 3, Fields 2. FT: 11-16; F: 23; Fouled out: None. 3-point field goals: Forbes 2, Masuga 2, Fleming 1, Dobessi 1, Wagner 1, Harris 1.

Harper College — Johnson 20, Nowakowski 13, Smith 7, Kokosoulis 7, Rajamanickam 7, McCurdy 6, Isom 6, Little 5. FT: 10-26; F: 15; Fouled out: None. 3-point field goals: Johnson 4, McCurdy 2, Isom 2, Kokosoulis 1, Rajamanickam 1, Nowakowski 1.