SUPERIOR, Wis. – Tuesday evening the Yellowjacket men's basketball team welcomed Buena Vista to Mertz Mortorelli Gymnasium in non-conference action. The 'Jackets have continued to play well despite a loss to UW-Stevens Point, and tonight they got things back on track as they downed Buena Vista 82-79.
 
Buena Vista opened the scoring with a three-pointer from Zane Neubaum which was quickly countered from Reid Johnson (Chatfield, Minn./Chatfield) who took a nice feed from Andrew Kunelius (Caledonia, Minn./Caledonia) to even things up early. Roughly a minute later, J'Vaun Walker (Rosharon, Texas/Manvel) would grab an offensive board and pass to Josef Fahrenholtz (Chatfield, Minn./Chatfield) who scored his first two points of the contest. The Beavers began to muster a comeback, but Johnson would counter with another shot from downtown before Walker nailed a jumper within the paint for a 12-6 lead.
 
Teams would trade points for a while and the Beavers would eventually knot things up at 25-25. Fahrenholtz would nail a jumper for two and drain both free throw opportunities after taking a foul from Gunner Reed. Kunelius later hit a shot beyond the arc and Fahrenholtz capitalized within the paint yet again, boosting the 'Jackets to an 11-point lead.
 
Towards the end of the half, Walker nailed a three-point shot but that would be negated as Newbaum was fouled and sunk three of his free throw opportunities. Despite this, the 'Jackets ended the first half with a nine-point lead at 44-35.
 
Buena Vista once again opened the scoring in the second half of action, as they came within one after Newbaum and Michael Santich completed their scoring opportunities. Fahrenholtz, Kunelius and Walker would help get the 'Jackets on the right foot again, but the Beavers came back to tie things up at 51-51.
 
After recently checking into the game, Jackson Allfrey (West Jordan, Utah/Copper Hills) nailed a shot from downtown that commenced a scoring rally for the Yellowjackets. Fahrenholtz again led the offensive charge, aiding UWS to a nine-point edge of the Beavers. Buena Vista would counter, however, as they fought to get back within three points at 70-67. As time continue to tick off the scoreboard, the Beavers capitalized on Yellowjacket turnovers and brought the game within three. Walker would get fouled and miss the one-and-one free throw, but he would counter with blocking Ryan Mendoza's three-point attempt and secured the Yellowjackets' sixth win on the season.
 
Fahrenholtz accounted for 31 points on the contest, which is the highest scoring output of his Yellowjacket career to date. Walker and Johnson would each contribute 15 points. Defensively Fahrenholtz grabbed ten rebounds while Kunelius was tabbed for nine on the evening.
 
The Yellowjackets will now set their sights on Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) action as they host Crown Friday. Tipoff inside the Mertz is slated for 7:15 p.m.