MORRIS, Minn. – The UW-Superior men's basketball team overcame a 13-point halftime deficit to post a key 86-82 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference victory at Minnesota Morris on Friday.
The Yellowjackets shot over 56 percent in a 51-point second half that gave UWS its fifth win away from home this season.
Sophomore
J'Vaun Walker (Rosharon, Texas/Manvel) scored 13 of his game-high 20 points in the second half and classmate
Josef Fahrenholtz (Chatfield, Minn./Chatfield) added 14 points and eight rebounds of his 18 points and nine boards after the break to lead the way. Juniors
Xavier Patterson (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior) and
Mason Ackley (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior) chipped in with 14 and 13 points on the night, respectively, rounding out the four Superior starters in double figures.
The tide turned in the second half after Minnesota Morris shot nearly 52 percent in the first half to stake itself to a 48-35 lead at halftime. The 'Jackets opened the second stanza with a 14-2 run over the first six-plus minutes to shave the Cougars' lead to just one at 50-49 when Walker converted a layup off of an
Eli Vogel (Appleton, Wis./Appleton West) feed.
UWS took its first lead of the half when sophomore
Joey Barker (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior) knocked down a 3-pointer, assisted by
Josh Reinertsen (Duluth, Minn./Denfeld), for a 60-58 edge with 10:25 to play.
Morris (8-16, 3-10 UMAC) built a 70-65 lead with six minutes left on a pair of Noah Kannegiesser free throws, but the 'Jackets didn't go away. Fahrenholtz and Vogel combined for a 7-0 stretch that wrested the lead away once again.
The lead changed hands twice more with UWS taking it for good at 74-73 with a pair from the line by Fahrenholtz with 4:22 on the clock. Walker hit a trey with 1:10 remaining for an 81-77 lead and Superior (9-15, 5-8) hit 5-of-6 free throws down the stretch to cement the win.
Kannegiesser led the Cougars with 16 points, while Corbyn Alexander had 12 points and 11 rebounds.
UWS closes the regular season Saturday at Crown. Game time is set for 4:45 p.m.
