ESCANABA — Bay College set the tone quickly here Saturday, rolling to an 87-53 men’s basketball triumph over the Gogebic Community College Samsons in its season-opening Fall Classic event.

The Norse (2-0) raced to an 11-0 lead on a layup and free throw by sophomore guard Lamar Grayson four minutes, 15 seconds into the contest.

Gogebic (1-1) trimmed its deficit to 13-6 on a fast break layup by sophomore guard Trevon Clark before the Norse extended their lead to 18-6 on a lay-in by sophomore wing Jaylen Flaniken.

“Our start was huge,” said Norse coach Matt Johnson. “We were real good defensively and made some shots which got the ball rolling. We executed better on both ends of the floor than we did last night (in Friday’s 97-66 victory over Harper College).”

Bay led 29-9 following a jump shot from the right corner by freshman guard Tyrel Creger with 8:45 left in the first half.

The Samsons, however, trimmed their deficit to 29-17 on a lay-in by Clark less than two minutes later.

Bay hiked its advantage to 41-22 on a running jumper by freshman wing Genesis Kemp and led 47-24 at the intermission.

“They’re big and talented,” said Gogebic coach Dennis Mackey. “They handled us in the first half and expended so much energy trying to come back. They have size and depth. This is a learning curve for us. We have to figure things out. We have some speed, but they were better today.”

The second half offered more of the same as the Norse extended their lead to 56-32.

Gogebic shaved its deficit to 56-37 on a putback by freshman forward Braxton Sbraggia with 13:22 remaining.

Bay answered with a 10-0 run for an insurmountable 66-37 advantage on a layup by Overstreet at 10:07.

Creger scored 14 points to go with seven rebounds and five assists. Kemp added 13 points. Grayson and sophomore wing Jaylen Flaniken had 12 apiece.

The Norse outrebounded the Samsons 43-33. They hit 30-of-58 field goals and committed just six turnovers.

Clark tallied 21 points and sophomore forward Donald Davis III hit 12 for the Samsons, who were 23-of-64 from the floor and had 11 miscues.

“We’re sitting where we need to be, although we’re not perfect by any means,” said Johnson. “We have plenty of room for growth. We need to tighten some things up. We definitely have some athleticism. I think our strengths are athleticism and depth moving forward.”

Flaniken collected 16 points and 14 rebounds in Friday’s opener. Grayson also had 16 points. Escanaba graduate Colin Hudson added 11 points and 11 boards and Creger had 10 points.

Freshman forward Nick Vuckovic and wing Darrell Luce led the Palentine, Ill.-based squad with 15 points each. Mike Vuckovic added 14 and sophomore wing Sean Beckman had 13.

Beckman scored 26 points as Harper hung on to defeat Alpena Community College Saturday. Twins Nick and Mike Vuckovic hit 13 each and freshman wing Will Genther had 10.

Sophomore guard James Williams scored 20, Nick Freel added 14 and Davarion Mitchell had 13 for the Lumberjacks.

Gogebic topped Alpena 60-52 in Friday’s opener.

The Norse host Mesabi Range (Minn) Community College Friday and Madison (Wis.) College Saturday in their Fall Classic II.

Gogebic 24 29 — 53

Bay 47 40 — 87

Gogebic Community College — Clark 21, Libertoski 2, Davis 12, Lyons 6, Roberts 4, Sbraggia 8. FT: 3-5; F: 20; Fouled out: Davis; 3-point field goals: Davis 2, Lyons 2.

Bay College — Overstreet 3, Creger 14, Colin Hudson 2, Grayson 12, Nelson 9, Flaniken 12, Kemp 13, LaFavor 3, Foust 5, Hughes 2, Thonton 12, Carter Hudson 4. FT: 20-28; F: 14; Fouled out: None; 3-point field goals: Kemp 3, Creger 2, Kemp, Foust.