MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – The Yellowjacket men's basketball team finished up a weekend in the Twin Cities Saturday, seeing action against the Rams of North Central. After securing a big overtime win Friday against Northwestern, the Yellowjackets were looking to keep the momentum going in the final game of the weekend.
 
It was closer than the 'Jackets would have liked, but they got the job done.
 
The Yellowjackets began the contest on the right foot, jumping out to an early lead that started with a jumper from Andrew Kunelius (Caledonia, Minn./Caledonia). Later, T.J. Moberg (Champlin, Minn./Champlin Park) would steal one from North Central's Tanner Holtman and deliver a feed to Kunelius for a made layup. Andrew Beers (Slinger, Wis./Slinger) nailed his first points of the game after converting the three-point-play, placing the 'Jackets ahead 7-0.
 
North Central came back and scored ten unanswered points before the Yellowjackets were able to take the lead back, courtesy of a long ball from Beers. Play would continue as Max Briggs (Woodbury, Minn./New Life Academy) fed Kunelius for a shot beyond the arc for a 16-13 lead, but the Rams came back after Nik Feller hit a mid-range jumper.
 
Walker responded with a trey, and later followed with a jumper before Joey Barker (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior) was sent to the line and converted a free throw, resulting in a five-point lead at 22-17. Feller once again hit a three pointer and Carrington McNeal finished a layup as time expired in the half, creating a 22-22 logjam heading into the second half.
 
Josef Fahrenholtz (Chatfield, Minn./Chatfield) got the 'Jackets going after the break, scoring the first six points off a jumper and a pair of layups. Moberg drilled a long ball after taking a feed from Kunelius, but the Rams responded with Feller nailing one of his own. From there Walker paced the offensive, converting on layups and free throws to bring the score to 36-31.
 
Once again, the Rams continued to claw their way back into the game. McNeal, Feller and Jack Courneya contributed to the offensive attack, but the 'Jackets also responded. Walker finished a driving layup and made a free throw to tie things up at 41-41, before both teams continued to trade points and the lead.
 
Midway into the half, Melchert, Beers and Briggs rallied to gain an eight-point lead against the Rams (55-47), but North Central wouldn't back down and came within two points at 59-57. Walker would draw a foul and hit both of his free throws, but those would quickly be negated as the Rams responded with two points of their own.
 
Barker would take a foul and nail both of his free throw attempts before Fahrenholtz nailed two of his own for a five-point lead at 67-62. McNeal hit a shot from downtown and a jumper inside the arc, forcing a timeout with under a minute remaining. Suspense built as the final seconds ticked off the clock as both teams missed key shots, but Walker drew a foul from Holtman with two seconds left. After missing the first free throw, he buckled down and converted his second, securing the 68-67 victory inside the Clark-Danielson Center.
 
Walker finished his evening with 22 points and seven rebounds. Additionally, Walker also added three steals to his season total of 42, sitting in a tie of 11th place for steals across all of Division III.
 
Fahrenholtz also had a solid night, scoring 15 and grabbing nine boards. Kunelius contributed ten points and six boards of his own.
 
UW-Superior (10-5, 3-2 UMAC) now prepares for a matchup with Bethany Lutheran on Friday. Tipoff is set for 7:15 p.m. inside the Mertz.