ASHLAND, Wis.: The last three games were a look into the past for the Yellowjacket men's basketball team, as they squared off against former WIAC foes Eau Claire, River Falls, and Stevens Point. The look back was anything but pleasant, as the Yellowjackets dropped all three contests. Wednesday night they looked to snap their three-game losing streak, and in the process open UMAC play on the right foot.

Mission accomplished.

Vid Milenkovic (Zurich, Switzerland/DSB Belgrade (Serbia)) scored 24 points on 10-of-17 shooting and grabbed 14 rebounds as the Yellowjackets pulled away in the second half to defeat Northland 78-54 Wednesday at Kendrigan Gymnasium. The senior from Zurich, Switzerland had a monster first half, scoring 20 points as the Yellowjackets led by 10 at the break. After Northland closed the gap early in the second half, the Yellowjackets put the pedal down and cruised to the 24-point win in a game they led from start to finish. With the win the Yellowjackets improve to 3-4 overall and 1-0 in UMAC play.

The Yellowjackets scored the first eight points of the game to open up the early lead. The lead hit a high water mark of 13 when the Yellowjackets took a 14-1 lead nearly eight minutes into the half. Northland went on a 12-3 run to close to within three at 16-13, but order was restored and the Yellowjackets pushed the lead back to 10 points in the closing seconds of the half. Allen Anderson (Brooklyn Park, Minn./Osseo) drained a pair of free throws to put the 'Jackets up 39-29 at intermission.

Northland came out flying to start the second half. Following a Colton Williams (Columbia Heights, Minn./Columbia Heights) bucket the Lumberjacks went on a 9-0 run to pull within three at 41-38. After the Yellowjackets pushed the lead back to five, Northland again came back and closed the gap to one, 45-44 with 12:16 to play. That's as close as Northland would get, and down the stretch the Yellowjackets had their way with the Lumberjacks, outscoring them 29-14 over the last 10 minutes to earn the victory.

Williams finished the game with 14 points, while Anderson added 13 points to go along with nine rebounds and four assists. Despite getting into foul trouble early, Mac Reykdal (Washburn, Wis./Washburn) finished with 10 points. As a team the Yellowjackets shot 42.6% from the field, including 48.48% in the second half.

Benny Larry, Jr., Harley Shear, and Devyn Frye all scored 10 points to lead the way for the Lumberjacks.