Trending
ESCANABA -- The Bay College women went right down to the wire in a barn-burner here Wednesday night, edging Alpena Community College 62-59.
Bay's men overcame a 10-point deficit to pull out a 72-66 triumph over the Lumberjacks.
North Central graduate and freshman guard Andi Arsenault sank four clutch free throws enabling the Bay women to erase a 60-59 deficit in the final 45 seconds.
"This was a great game for the fans to watch," said Bay women's coach Matt Gregory. "It's always nice to be able to pull one out. It's good to see a game with some sophomore leadership and different girls step up at different times. We put a little more defensive pressure on them down the stretch. It was good to get the free throws in the end."
Alpena took a 56-54 lead on two free throws by freshman forward Jade Schultz with four minutes, 41 seconds left to play.
Arsenault then tied the score on a pair of gifters just eight seconds later.
Neither team scored again until the final 70 seconds when St. Ignace grad and sophomore forward Madison Olsen hit a layup on a pass by Arsenault, giving the Norse a 58-36 lead.
Alpena, however, regained the lead on a 3-point shot by sophomore guard Mollie Girard, setting the stage for Arsenault's game-clinching free throws.
"We had a lot of opportunities," said Alpena coach Cindy DeRocher. "They're a good team. They come right back at you. They also have some excellent 3-point shooters. We knew we had to play hard for 40 minutes."
The game was close throughout, with Bay taking its biggest lead at 23-16 on a jump shot by sophomore guard Bree Arsenault with 4:39 left in the second stanza.
Alpena rallied to take a 27-26 lead on a 20-foot jumper from the right wing by Girard 12 seconds before halftime.
The Norse, however, regained the lead on a buzzer-beating 10-foot set shot by Mid Peninsula grad and sophomore guard Kennedy Englund.
Bay (7-5) gained a 32-27 lead early in the third on Andi Arsenault's floater from the lane. The Lumberjacks (3-6), however, refused to go away.
"Moving forward we need to clean up a lot of things," said Gregory. "The girls are tired, but we let that keep up from stepping up and making plays."
Alpena outrebounded the Norse 44-27, hit 21-of-67 field goals and 10-of-12 free throws.
Bay was 20-of-48 from the field and 15-of-17 from the line and had 17 miscues.
Andie Arsenault, who hit all six of her free throws, led the Norse with 17 points and five assists. Olsen added 14 points and three assists.
Girard paced Alpena with 17 points and nine rebounds. Schultz added 14 points and eight boards, and freshman guard/forward Allison DeRocher had 10 points and eight boards. Freshman Melanie Morrison also had 10 points.
The Norse committed 17 turnovers, and the Lumberjacks had 16.
Alpena took a 56-46 advantage on an eight-foot jumper by sophomore forward/center Chris DeRocher with 9:50 left in the men's contest.
Bay (11-2) scored the next seven points, trimming its deficit to 56-42 on a 20-foot jumper from the left wing at 8:15.
A layup and free throw by freshman forward/center Steeve Nicolas put the Lumberjacks up by seven on their next possession.
Bay then climbed within 59-58 on a jumper from top of the key by Escanaba grad and freshman Carter Hudson with 6:05 remaining.
A layup by Nicholas made it 61-58 at 5:51 before Hudson added a layup and two free throws to give the Norse a 62-61 lead with 4:59 left.
Freshman wing hit a layup to put the Norse up by three before freshman guard/forward Nick Freel scored on a lay-in to bring the Lumberjacks within a point at 2:45.
The Norse answered with six points, gaining an insurmountable 70-63 advantage on a steal and layup by sophomore forward Diang Gatluak with 33.9 seconds left.
"It was definitely nerve-wracking at times," said Bay coach Matt Johnson. "They made it a little more interesting than we hoped. They had the momentum when they went up by 10. They outplayed us most of the game, but we had a couple guys step up and make plays when we needed. No. 33 (DeRocher) is heck of a player. He was a tough match-up for us. He's a very solid player who plays within himself."
The Norse held a 42-25 rebounding advantage, hit 24-of-54 field goals and committed nine turnovers. Alpena (2-6) was 27-of-60 from the floor and had 10 miscues.
"Their steals and our turnovers hurt us in the end, although we've been working on that all year," said Alpena coach Bobby Allen. "I like the way our guys play. They play hard and don't give up. In basketball, you've got to believe. I always believed you go to practice and work on the things you need to. I was very proud of their effort. No. 10 (freshman Lamar Grayson) hit some big shots down the stretch. Both teams played very, very well."
Gatluak scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Freshman wing Jaylen Flaniken added 14 points and eight boards, and Grayson finished with 13 points.
Sophomore guard Quay Humphrie led the Lumberjacks with 16 points. DeRocher hit 14. Nicholas chipped in with 13, and Freel had 11.
"That's a good basketball team," said Johnson. "They're well coached and they executed their game plan, which made for a long night for us. We need to develop a killer instinct. I don't think we're playing anywhere near our capabilities. We need to get better for sure. We have to dig deep and battle."
The Norse travel to Illinois this weekend for games at Harper College and Joliet Junior College. Alpena hosts Grand Rapids Community College Saturday.
Men
Alpena CC 26 40 -- 66
Bay College 31 41 -- 72
Alpena Community College -- Humphrie 16, Baker 5, Miller 4, Nicolas 13, DeRocher 14, Freel 11, Williams 3. FT: 4-6; F: 20; Fouled out: None; 3-point field goals: Humphrie 4, Freel 3, Baker.
Bay College -- Overstreet 7, Flaniken 14, Kennedy 1, Gatluak 16, Hudson 7, Kang 4, Thompson 6, Grayson 13, Nelson 4. FT: 20-29; F: 12; Fouled out: None; 3-point field goals: Overstreet, Gatluak, Hudson, Grayson.
Women
Alpena CC 11 16 19 13 -- 59
Bay College 10 18 21 13 -- 62
Alpena Community College -- Fischer 2, DeRocher 10, Girard 17, Schultz 14, Wilkinson 3, Hentkowski 3, Morrison 10. FT: 10-12; F: 18; Fouled out: None; 3-point field goals: Wilkinson, Hentkowski.
Bay College -- Englund 9, B. Arsenault 7, A. Arsenault 17, Koski 8, Olsen 14, Frappy 2, Trudeau 4, Taylor 1. FT: 15-17; F: 8; Technical foul: Taylor; 3-point field goals: Englund 3, B. Arsenault, A. Arsenault, Koski, Olsen.