DE PERE, Wis. -- The UW-Superior men's basketball team held a double-digit lead more than 14 minutes into its non-conference game with St. Norbert at the Mulva Family Sports Center, but the Green Knights shot over 55 percent after halftime to earn an 82-72 victory on Saturday.
 
The Yellowjackets, who dropped to 2-3 on the season with the loss, led 34-24 with 5:33 to play in the first half before St. Norbert began to come back. SNC (2-2) closed the period with an 18-5 run, taking a 42-39 advantage into the locker room on a Carter Gebler3-pointer on the final possession.
 
Junior J'Vaun Walker (Rosharon, Texas/Manvel) tied the game, 44-44, with a 3-pointer just over two minutes into the second half before Gebler responded on the next trip down the floor with another trey to give the Green Knights the lead for good at the 17:19 mark.
 
Following a UWS timeout, Walker converted a layup, assisted by senior Carter Brown (Eau Claire, Wis./Regis Catholic), to cut the deficit to one, however, St. Norbert used a 6-0 spurt to open a 53-46 advantage with less than 15 minutes remaining.
 
Superior crept to within 55-50 with 13:14 on the clock with another Walker basket prior to St. Norbert extending its lead to double figures for the first time as Garrett Grzesk canned a 3-pointer to make it 60-50 with 12:01 left. The Green Knights held a conformable margin the rest of the day, leading by as many as 12 in the final minute.
 
The Yellowjackets erased an early eight-point SNC edge with a 15-6 stretch, taking 22-21 lead on a Reid Johnson (Chatfield, Minn./Chatfield) 3-pointer with 10:51 before Intermission. Johnson stripped a St. Norbert player of the ball and found Ty Melchert (Green Bay, Wis./Green Bau Southwest) for a layup to lengthen the lead to 24-21 later. Johnson, who was 5-for-11 from 3-point range for a game-high-tying 19 points, hit another one off of a Josef Fahrenholtz (Chatfield, Minn./Chatfield) offensive rebound and assist, for a six-point bulge and yet another with eight minutes remaining in the stanza to make it a 30-22 game.
 
Johnson finished 6-of-14 from the field in 26 minutes off the bench, while Walker also had 19 points on 9-for-12 shooting in 31 minutes. Walker, the reining UMAC Player of the Week, added five rebounds and three assists. Fahrenholtzchipped in with nine points and a game-high seven boards.
 
St. Norbert put four players in double figures with Grzesk leading the way with 17 points. Kyle Krueger had 15 points, Jamison Nickolai14 and Gebler13. St. Norbert shot 31-for-58 overall (58.5 percent) including over 61.5 percent in the first half.
 
The Green Knights held a 36-25 edge in rebounding.
 
UWS returns to action Tuesday, Dec. 6 at Finlandia in a 6 p.m., CT tip-off.