ESCANABA — Playing from behind can be challenging for any team.

The Bay College basketball teams faced that situation here Saturday while dropping both games to Mid Michigan College.

Bay’s women trailed most of the way in an 81-72 loss and the Norse men led twice briefly but also fell to the Lakers 87-66.

“We played really hard,” Norse men’s coach Matt Johnson said. “I thought our effort and intensity was really good. I’m proud of the guys for the effort they gave. That’s a real good basketball team which made for a tough match-up.”

The Norse men fell behind early, then took their first lead (24-23) on a layup by freshman Emerson Doubie with 6:55 left in the first half.

Sophomore guard Vynce Overshown then got a friendly roll on a jump shot from downtown, giving the Lakers a 26-24 lead.

Freshman forward Ziad Abouali converted a putback into a layup to tie the score at 26.

A dunk by freshman Zack Parks enabled Mid Michigan to regain the lead at 4:25.

The Norse responded with six unanswered points, taking a 32-28 lead on a layup by Abouali 2:09 before halftime.

Mid Michigan, however, surged to a 41-32 halftime lead on a pair of free throws by Overshown, then extended its lead to 46-32 on Overshown’s 23-foot jumper from the left wing early in the second half.

Sophomore guard William Kelley and Droubie each drained 23-foot jumpers from the left wing to bring the Norse within 46-38

The Lakers answered with an 11-2 run, gaining a 57-40 advantage on a pair of gifters on a technical foul with 14:37 remaining in the contest.

Bay got within 71-56 on a putback by Kelley at 9:28, but was unable to get any closer.

The Lakers led by as much as 85-63 on a pair of free throws by Parks with 3:58 remaining.

Mid Michigan, winner of nine straight, improved 16-4 overall and 6-0 in the MCCAA North Conference.

Overshown, who hit seven 3-point shots, finished with 25 points and nine rebounds. Parks sank all six of his free throws and finished with 17 points. Sophomore guard Amonti Green added 13 points and four assists and freshman guard Christian Zielinski had 12 points.

The Norse (15-6 overall, 4-3 league) outrebounded the Lakers 44-35, but hit 26-of-65 field goals and only 7-of-16 free throws and committed 16 turnovers. Mid Michigan was 30-of-62 from the field and 14-of-15 from the line.

“We had some guys stepping up and doing some good things,” Johnson said. “I’m not upset with the guys at all, although we didn’t shoot well at all from the floor or the line. We’ve got to be ready. We can’t look past our next game.”

Droubie paced the Norse with 18 points. Freshman point guard Trey Frye III collected 13 points, four assists and two steals. Abouali tallied 12 points and eight boards and Kelley chipped in with 10 points.

The Bay women trailed 18-15 after the first quarter and 25-15 following a jumper from the left corner by freshman guard Lynsey Biller early in the second.

Sophomore guard Mckenzie Hoffmeyer hit a 10-foot floater to bring the Norse within 26-21 with six minutes left in the second stanza.

A six-foot jumper by Mackinaw City graduate Madison Smith, however, extended Mid Michigan’s lead to seven points moments later.

Sophomore guard Lauren Zawada sank a pair of free throws to shave Bay’s deficit to 32-30 at 1:54.

The Norse stayed close through the remainder of the second frame as freshman guard Jillian Fraser got them within 38-36 on a leaning 22-foot shot from the left wing at the buzzer.

Hoffmeyer helped the Norse get off on the right foot in the third frame as she drained a 10-foot jumper to tie the score at 40.

The Norse then gained a 44-40 lead on a six-foot set shot by Hoffmeyer nearly midway through the third.

Hoffmeyer added a layup with two minutes remaining in the third, giving Bay a 51-46 lead.

The Lakers, however, answered with a 10-0 run, taking a 56-51 lead on a pair of gifters by Smith late in the third.

Bay was still within 67-66 after a layup by Hoffmeyer and 72-68 following a pair of gifters by sophomore guard Mckenna Hendrickson with 4:08 left to play.

Mid Michigan (17-3 overall, 6-0 conference) responded with seven unanswered points, gaining an insurmountable 79-68 cushion on a layup by freshman guard Gracie Mellinger with less than three minutes remaining.

“They were a step or two faster than us today,” Norse coach James Fassett said. “We stayed in the fight, but once they pushed their lead to double digits we didn’t have enough left in the tank.”

Hoffmeyer finished with 24 points. Zawada tallied 16 points, 12 rebounds, six steals and four assists and Fraser contributed 12 points.

The Norse (17-4 overall, 6-1 conference) were outrebounded 53-49, sank 26-of-75 field goals and had 23 turnovers.

Mellinger scored 19 points to go with three assists and two steals. Sophomore guard Delaney Seaman added 17 points, six assists and three steals and Smith had 12 points, eight boards and four blocked shots.

“We got her (Smith) in foul trouble and that’s when we were able to get a push,” Fassett said. “Mckenzie gave us a spark and Jillian hit some big shots in the first half. Number one, we’ve got to stay healthy and number two, we’ve got to stick with it. We’ve got the whole month of February.”

The Lakers were 29-of-64 from the floor and committed 24 turnovers.

Bay hosts North Central Michigan Wednesday with the women’s game at 5:30 p.m. and the men’s contest at 7:30.

Women

Mid Michigan 18 20 18 25 — 81

Bay College 14 22 15 21 — 72

Mid Michigan College — Smith 12, Lautzenheiser 4, Seaman 17, Mellinger 19, Dunn 2, Phillips 9, Pratt 3, Biller 5, Chinavare 8, Nelson 1, Butcher 1. FT: 17-31; F: 19; Fouled out: None; 3-point field goals: Chinavare 2, Seaman, Mellinger, Pratt, Biller.

Bay College — Hendrickson 8, Seymour 1, Blackburn 2, Hoffmeyer 24, Zawada 16, Ives 5, Bower 4, Fraser 12. FT: 14-22; F: 22; Fouled out: None; 3-point field goals: Fraser 4, Hoffmeyer, Ives.

Men

Mid Michigan 41 46 — 87

Bay College 32 34 — 66

Mid Michigan College — Lindsey 8, Green 13, Overshown 25, J. Clark 8, Zielinski 12, White 3, B. Clark 1, Parks 17. FT: 14-15; F: 20; Fouled out: None; 3-point field goals: Overshown 7, Lindsey 2, Zielinski 2, White, Parks.

Bay College — Hustrulid 2, Kelley 10, Droubie 18, Vann 4, Johnson 2, Frye 13, Madey 5, Abouali 12. FT: 7-16; F: 11; Fouled out: None; 3-point field goals: Droubie 4, Kelley 2, Madey.