SUPERIOR, Wis. – Mason Ackley's (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior) desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer was slightly off line Friday as the Yellowjackets nearly completed a second-half comeback against Bethany Lutheran, falling 68-66, in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference opener for both at Mertz Mortorelli Gymnasium.
 
The Yellowjackets rallied from down 67-57 with 4:08 to play to cut the deficit to just two when J'Vaun Walker (Rosharon, Texas/Manvel) went coast-to-coast to lay it in with seven seconds remaining. After a timeout and Bora Yilmaz (Istanbul, Turkey/The Knox School (N.Y.)) foul, Justin Schupp missed from the line and Joey Barker (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior) gathered the rebound before getting the ball up to Ackley for the final shot.
 
The Yellowjackets trailed, 36-35, at halftime in a first half that featured six ties and two lead changes. UWS built a 52-46 advantage with 12:14 to play when Ackley hit a jumper, assisted by T.J. Moberg (Champlin, Minn./Champlin Park). Bethany Lutheran, though, embarked on a 19-5 run that gave it the 10-point edge with four minutes to play.
 
Ackley led three UWS players scoring in double figures with 18 points. Xavier Patterson (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior) tallied 14 points and Walker registered 12. Ackley also grabbed a game-high nine rebounds. 
 
Bethany Lutheran's Brian Smith led all players with 26 points on 8-for-19 shooting, including five 3-pointers.
 
Bethany Lutheran improved to 4-4 and 1-0 in the UMAC with the win while Superior fell to 2-6 and 0-1.
 
The Yellowjackets are back in action hosting Martin Luther on Saturday at 4:45 p.m.