Justin St. Ours | Daily Press Bay College’s Xavier Fields (24) jumps for a rebound above Lake Superior State’s Ben Schultz (14) and teammate Austin Forbes Sunday at Escanaba.

ESCANABA — The Bay College men nearly got more than they bargained for here Sunday in a 96-84 basketball triumph over a shorthanded Lake Superior State jayvee team.

Bay held a seemingly comfortable 46-30 lead following a pair of free throws by Tristan Masuga, a freshman forward from Cedarville, early in the second half of its home debut.

Lake State, with just six available players, then got hot from the perimeter and closed within 58-54 on a 20-foot jump shot from the left wing by Reese Zhulke with 14 minutes left to play.

The Norse extended their lead to 71-59 on a jumper from the lane and free throw by Matt Wagner, a freshman guard from Marinette, with 9:35 remaining.

LSSU answered with a 7-0 run within the next 50 seconds, climbing within 71-66 on Cameran Decaire’s gifters.

Wagner then sank a jumper from top of the key and a 20-footer before Cade Contreras, a reserve sophomore guard from Munising, added a 22-foot jumper from the left wing to put the Norse up 80-66.

“They (LSSU) hit a ton of shots, more than 45 percent of their 3s in the second half,” said Bay coach Matt Johnson. “We didn’t guard very well against the dribble, which created a lot of open shots for them. Although, we got a W and we’ll definitely take it. We have a lot of room to improve.”

The Lakers trimmed their deficit to 82-70 on a pair of free throws by Stone Arnold. The Norse, however, didn’t allow them to get any closer.

LSSU was within 32-27 following a 20-foot jumper from the right wing by Zuhlke with 3 1/2 minutes left in the first half.

The Norse finished the half with a 12-3 run, gaining a 44-30 halftime cushion on a buzzer-beating jumper from top of the key by Ryan Robinette, a sophomore guard from Escanaba.

Masuga led the Norse (4-0) with 16 points and nine rebounds. Robinette scored 14 points. Xaviel Fields, a 6-foot-6 reserve freshman guard from Detroit, added 12 points including a dunk late in the first half. Contreras also finished with 12 points and Wagner had 11.

“We wanted to make sure we were talking on defense,” said Fields. “They were shooting the ball well. Once we got our lead back to double digits, we felt we had a little more breathing room.”

Christian Alexander, a 6-8 sophomore forward from Dorset U.K., also had a dunk during Bay’s game-opening 9-2 run.

Arnold, who drained 5-of-6 shots from behind the arc and 10-of-11 free throws, led the Lakers (0-2) with 31 points, four assists and four steals. Decaire added five triples and finished with 21 points. Austin Purchase had 16 points and 10 assists.

“Five-of-six from 3-point range — that’s one heck of a night,” said Johnson.

“We just didn’t do a very good job containing him. We did a lot of good things. Only, we need to play with more energy. We have a lot of work to do.”

Bay held a 48-41 rebounding advantage, hit 36-of-77 field goals and committed 19 turnovers. Lake State, which was 27-of-69 from the field, also had 19 miscues.

The Norse resume at Milwaukee Area Tech Friday.

LSSU jayvees 30 54 — 84

Bay College 44 52 — 96

Lake Superior State University jayvees — Arnold 31, Zuhlke 9, Decaire 21, Schultz 5, Purchase 16, Heistan 2. FT: 14-19; F: 13; Fouled out: None; 3-point field goals: Arnold 5, Decaire 5, Zuhlke 3, Purchase 2, Schultz.

Bay College — Dobessi 7, Wagner 11, Robinette 14, Massuga 16, Alexander 6, Fleming 5, Saubert 3, Mattson 2, Harris 6, Fields 12, Contreras 12, Yohe 2. FT: 11-14; F: 19; Fouled out: None; 3-point field goals: Robinette 4, Wagner 3, Harris 2, Contreras 2, Fleming, Saubert.