ESCANABA, MI – The Norse Men's Basketball Team (2-0) picked up two wins in the Terrace Bay Hotel Tip-Off Classic hosted at Bay College. The Norse beat Minnesota North – Hibbing (1-1) 95-75 on Friday night before winning a thrilling 71-68 matchup with Rock Valley College (1-1) on Saturday evening.
Bay found itself in a battle early on against the Hibbing Cardinals as the visitors took a 34-33 lead with just under five minutes to play in the first half. Trevor Nolan (FR, Munising, MI) sparked the Norse offense with consecutive three-pointers and it would trigger a 14-5 run, giving the Norse a 47-39 lead at halftime.
The closest the Cardinals would get from there would be five points as Bay used small runs to open up a lead. A 9-0 run under three minutes to play put the game out of reach for Hibbing, as Bay would go on to win by 20 in the season opener for both teams.
The Cardinals shot the ball well in the contest, hitting on 44.9% of their shots, which included eight of 14 from three-point, but they were forced into 25 errors and outrebounded 42-32. Bay collected 20 offensive rebounds in the contest.
Taveon Vann (SO, Milwaukee, WI) led the Norse with 21 points on nine of 11 shooting. Savion Johnson (SO, Milwaukee, WI) had 13 points and six rebounds, while Ziad Abouali (FR, Cairo, Egypt) had 12 points and four rebounds. Adam Page (FR, Chicago, IL) ended with 11 points.
Hibbing's RJ Walker (SO, Houston, TX) led all scorers with 34 points. David Nelson (RS-FR, Palm Beach, FL) picked up ten points and six rebounds.
On Saturday the Norse had an early 4-2 lead but Rock Valley, who received votes in the NJCAA Division 2 Preseason Poll, went on a 13-2 run to open up a nine-point lead. It looked as though the Golden Eagles were going to run away with it, as they led by as many as 11 at one point midway through the first half.
A 9-1 Bay run made it a two-point game with just over four minutes to play in the first half, but unfortunately the Norse would go cold from there and get just a Page three-pointer in the final minute. A 10-3 Rock Valley run made it 34-25 in favor of the Golden Eagles at half.
RVC took their biggest lead of the game early in the second half with a three, making the score 44-31 with just under 15 minutes to play.
Rock Valley hit a scoring drought over the next five minutes, opening the door for a Norse comeback. Page scored seven points in that stretch and Nolan buried a three and a jumper on back-to-back possessions to tie the game at 46 with just over nine minutes to play.
Rock Valley immediately responded and led by as many as seven with time winding down. With the Norse down six with under three to play, Kyle Hustrulid (FR, Edina, MN) hit a three-pointer, which was followed by a Trey Frye III (FR, Milwaukee, WI) steal and layup, cutting the deficit to one. A Rock Valley three, and the teams trading points on possessions, put Bay down two as the clock ticked under a minute.
The Norse had possession and took advantage. Page knocked down a three with just over 20 seconds left to give Bay their first lead of the game since the very early stages. The Golden Eagles had a shot to regain the lead, but missed on a look from beyond the arc, and were forced to foul Abouali when he secured the rebound. The freshman knocked down his two free throws to seal a big win for the Norse.
Page was three of six from three-point and led the Norse with 15 points. Abouali had 13 points and eight rebounds, while Nolan had ten points and four steals. Frye III ended up with ten points, four assists, and four steals.
Adam Brown (SO, Belvidere, IL) was six of 11 from beyond the three-point arc and led all scorers with 22 points. Jajuan Cozark (RS-SO, Chicago, IL) picked up 21 points and nine rebounds, while JT Samuels (SO, Rockford, IL) had 12 points and five rebounds.
The Norse return to action on November 12 when they host Gogebic Community College. That game will tip at 7:30 pm.
Photo courtesy of Scotty Bartley