SUPERIOR, Wis. – The Yellowjacket men's basketball team, after a near-historic 5-0 start to the 2023-24 season, are facing adversity for the first time.

Last Saturday the perfect start was ended with a loss to UW-Stevens Point. After bouncing back with a nice win over Buena Vista last week, the Yellowjackets dropped their Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) opener to Crown Friday. Less than 24 hours later, the Yellowjackets were back on the hardwood, taking on Minnesota Morris, looking to prevent their first losing streak of the year.
 
The Yellowjackets started fast Saturday, but Morris came back with a strong second half, coming from behind to defeat the Yellowjackets in a nail-biter, 65-63 at Mertz Mortorelli Gym.
 
With the loss, the Yellowjackets (6-3, 0-2 UMAC) have lost consecutive games for the first time this season, and have now dropped three of their last four games.
 
Josef Fahrenholtz (Chatfield, Minn./Chatfield), who had a tough game shooting-wise Friday, came back with a strong effort Saturday, leading all scorers with 22 points. He was also the top rebounder for the Yellowjackets, finishing with nine, putting him just one board short of a double-double.
 
The Yellowjackets came out strong Saturday, scoring the game's first seven points before the game was even two minutes old. Fahrenholtz and T.J. Moberg (Champlin, Minn./Champlin Park) combined to give the 'Jackets the lead. The strong shooting continued, and with 2:51 to go in the first half, Joey Barker (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior), who'd missed the previous four games with an injury, hit a jumper in the paint to put the Yellowjackets ahead by double digits, 31-21.
 
Morris came roaring back, however, outscoring the Yellowjackets 7-2 the rest of the way and shaving the UWS lead to 33-28 at the half.
 
Early in the second half the teams traded baskets, but a three-point play by Morris with 5:35 gone in the half pulled them even at 40-40. The score stayed there for over two minutes, as the teams went cold, but J'Vaun Walker (Rosharon, Texas/Manvel) scored two of his nine points on a jumper to put the Yellowjackets back in front. Morris, however, came down on the next possession and with 11:03 remaining too their first lead of the game, 45-44.
 
Over the next few minutes, the teams traded baskets, and leads, before Morris started to pull away. An 11-0 run gave the Cougars a 54-46 lead, and that would prove to be insurmountable for the Yellowjackets, despite a valiant comeback.
 
Barker started things with a jumper in the paint to cut the deficit to seven. Then, Max Briggs (Woodbury, Minn./New Life Academy) scored five straight points for the Yellowjackets, pulling them to within four, 58-54. A layup by Walker would make it a two-point game, but Morris continued to make baskets and keep the 'Jackets down. Morris built a five-point lead with under a minute to go, but Andrew Kunelius (Caledonia, Minn./Caledonia) hit a layup to make it a one-possession game. Walker made a free throw with 32 seconds left to pull the 'Jackets to within 63-61. He would then hit a jumper with 14 seconds to cut the deficit to one, 64-63, but that's as close as the Yellowjackets could get and Morris closed it out.
 
In his return, Barker had a strong outing, scoring 10 points to go along with four rebounds and two assists in 20 minutes off the bench. Briggs also had a strong game off the bench, scoring a career-high seven points. Walker was held to a season-low nine points Saturday.