NAPLES, Fla. – A 28-9 run over an eight-and-a-half-minute span in the first half helped the UW-Superior men's basketball team knock off eighth-ranked John Carroll, 87-76, in the Basketball Destinations D3 Naples Shootout on Thursday.
 
Junior J'Vaun Walker (Rosharon, Texas/Manvel) scored 23 points on 8-for-14 shooting to lead three Yellowjackets in double figures as UWS shot 51.9 percent on the day and outrebounded John Carroll, 41-32, in handing the Blue Streaks (8-2) their first non-league loss of the season. The win for UWS (4-6) is its first over an opponent ranked in the D3hoops.com top 25 in the six-year tenure of head coach Greg Polkowski.
 
The Yellowjackets led for nearly 38 minutes, using several prolonged runs, including the 8:39 stretch that saw them open a 38-17 lead, capped when sophomore Reid Johnson (Chatfield, Minn./Chatfield) gathered an offensive rebound and fed junior Joey Barker (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior) for a layup with 5:44 left before intermission. UWS went 11-of-18 from the floor in that time with Barker scoring eight, sophomore Andrew Kunelius (Caledonia, Minn./Caledonia) six and Walker five. John Carroll, which shot 37 percent in the first half, was 0-for-7 from beyond the arc as Superior pulled away.
 
UWS led, 46-31, at the break.
 
A steal and layup from Walker with 16:30 remaining pushed the advantage to 17 at 54-37, before Walker completed a three-point play just over four minutes later, giving the 'Jackets their largest lead of the day of 22 at 66-44.
 
A bucket in transition from Luke Frazier worked the John Carroll deficit under double digits at 67-58 with 8:21 left, but eight was as close as the Blue Streaks got as Johnson splashed a 3-pointer to go up, 80-69, with 1:57 on the clock, putting the game out of reach.
 
Barker finished with a career-high 22 points on 5-of-11 shooting, burying 11-of-13 free throws. He also tied his career best with nine boards, seven of which came on the defensive glass. Johnson scored 14 points, going 4-of-6 from distance.

Frazier led all players with 32 points and four steals while Luke Chicone scored 18 and Chase Toppin 12 for John Carroll.

UWS is back in action Friday playing Clarkson at 6 p.m., Central time.