Minnesota Morris 81, UW-Superior 72

SUPERIOR, Wis. (December 9, 2017) – The Yellowjackets were up early on the Cougars, but fell behind in the first half and couldn't get out of the hole, falling to Minnesota Morris at home. Shaq Coleman (Duluth, Minn./Duluth East) led the 'Jackets with 22 points.

Superior got out to an early 7-4 lead after a Nate Kalien (Chippewa Falls, Wis./Chippewa Falls) 3-pointer, assisted by Vid Milenkovic (Zurich, Switzerland/DSB Belgrade, Serbia), and then 8-4 when Colton Williams (Columbia Heights, Minn. /Columbia Heights) hit the first of two free throws. Williams would then hit a three of his own on an offensive rebounded by from Kalien.

Montroy Scott (Fridley, Minn./Columbia Heights) would hit his signature 2-point jumper to make the game 17-12 'Jackets at the 10:27 mark of the free-flowing first half, but the Cougars would fight back and tie at 17 with a 3-pointer. They soon stretched their lead to 31-26 after a litany of threes, ending the half up 41-32 on Superior.

Shooting woes crept in the on 'Jackets in the second half, unable to get to a position to take the lead. Superior cut the lead to 41-38 on a Coleman layup in the paint; Coleman would find the lane again at 12 minutes, getting it to 54-48. The Yellowjackets' best chance came at 67-62 on back-to-back free throws from Coleman, but the Cougars prevailed 81-72 at the final buzzer.

Four 'Jackets scored in double-digits for Superior, Coleman had 22 and three assists, Kalien finished with 14, hitting four 3-pointers, Milenkovic had 12 and eight boards, while Williams had 10 and six boards.

The Cougars' Noah Grove had 27 points to lead all scorers.

Superior will play their first UMAC road game this Wednesday, Dec. 13, taking on the Northland College Lumberjacks at 5:30 p.m. in Ashland, Wis.