EAU CLAIRE, Wis. – Sophomore guard J'Vaun Walker (Rosharon, Texas/Manvel) scored a game-high 22 points and pulled down eight rebounds, but UW-Eau Claire topped the UW-Superior men's basketball team, 75-66, at Zorn Arena on Tuesday.
 
Walker shot 7-for-12 from the field and was a perfect 8-of-8 from the free-throw line to help the Yellowjackets stay with the Blugolds. Juniors Mason Ackley (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior) and Eli Vogel (Appleton, Wis./Appleton West) scored 13 points apiece, as well.
 
UW-Eau Claire jumped out to a 21-5 lead with less than eight minutes gone in the first half on the strength of a 13-0 run. The 'Jackets whittled the lead to 21-13 when Ackley knocked down a 3-pointer after a Josh Reinertsen (Duluth, Minn./Denfeld) steal. Bora Yilmaz (Istanbul, Turkey/The Knox School (N.Y.)) then hit a jumper with 7:26 remaining in the half, making it a 26-19 game, and Walker cut the lead to four one minute later with a jumper of his own in the paint. UWS shaved the lead to four on two more occasions in the half before the UWEC went into the halftime locker room up, 36-30.
 
Freshman Reid Johnson (Chatfield, Minn./Chatfield) cut it to a 50-47 deficit with nine-and-a-half minutes remaining with a layup off of a Reinertsen pass, but that was as close as Superior got. Eau Claire used a Cade Hall 3-pointer with 6:23 on the clock to push the lead to seven at 60-53, and then it grew to 66-56 with 3:02 left on a David Ijadimbola hoop.
 
The Blugolds, who improved to 7-3 with the win, shot 48 percent from the field. UWEC got balanced scoring with 17 points from Carter Brooks, 15 from Brock Voigt and nine from Spencer Page. Eau Claire outrebounded UWS, 33-36.
 
Next up, the Yellowjackets (2-5) open Upper Midwest Athletic Conference play on Friday, hosting Bethany Lutheran. Game time at Mertz Mortorelli Gymnasium is slated for 7:15 p.m.