SUPERIOR, Wis. – Junior guard
Eli Vogel (Appleton, Wis./Appleton West) scored 10 of his team-high 15 points in the second half to lift the UW-Superior men's basketball team to a 80-64 victory over Minnesota Morris at Mertz Mortorelli Gymnasium on Monday.
The Yellowjackets shot 50 percent from the field in the second half, outscoring the visiting Cougars by 11 in the stanza, for the win. Sophomore
Joey Barker (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior) joined Vogel in double figures with a career-high 14 points and classmate
Xavier Patterson (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior) added 13, rounding out the Superior players in double digits.
Mason Ackley (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior) and Josef Fahrenholz grabbed six rebounds apiece while Ackley dished season-high seven assists as UWS improved to 7-11 overall and 4-4 in the league.
UWS scored on the opening possession and never trailed the in the contest. The 'Jackets opened a 29-19 lead with 7:13 remaining in the first half when
Josh Reinertsen (Duluth, Minn./Denfeld) connected on a 3-pointer before five quick points from the Cougars' Noah Kannegiesser pulled Minnesota Morris to within 29-24 with 4:17 left in the half. Superior led, 36-31, at the half.
UWS hit four 3-pointers in the first two-and-a-half minutes of the second half – two of which came from Vogel – stretching the lead to 48-38. Ackley later hit a jumper in transition to push the advantage to 53-42 with 14:05 remaining, but Minnesota Morris (8-11, 3-5 UMAC) rallied over the next five minutes to knot the game at 57 with 9:06 left.
UWS responded with a 9-0 run to regain control. Reinertsen began the stretch with a trey, and Barker closed it was a pair of free throws following a steal and foul that made it 66-57 with less than five minutes on the clock.
Superior cruised the rest of the way for the victory.
Morris, which shot 53 percent from the floor for the game, got a game-best 18 points from Kannegiesser. Ian Carlin scored 14 and Jaret Johnson 10.
UWS returns to action Friday at Martin Luther. Tip-off is set for 7:15 p.m.
