SUPERIOR, Wis. – After clinching a victory over North Central Friday, the Yellowjacket men's basketball team were back on the hardwood Saturday, facing off against Northwestern in another important Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) matchup.
Despite the 'Jackets taking an early 5-0 lead courtesy of
Andrew Kunelius (Caledonia, Minn./Caledonia) and
Ty Melchert (Green Bay, Wis./Green Bay Southwest), the Eagles stayed with UWS until the second half of play. Caleb Hoilien for the Eagles finished a layup after roughly three minutes ticked off the clock for a 27-22 lead, and from there Northwestern never fell behind, propelling to a 55-45 victory inside Mertz Mortorelli Gymnasium.
The Yellowjackets (14-7, 6-4 UMAC) remain second in conference standings, but are forced to share with Crown and North Central, who defeated Martin Luther and Northland Saturday, respectively.
Game Notes
- Saturday served as both alumni and senior day, with Josef Fahrenholtz (Chatfield, Minn./Chatfield) and Kyle Bilodeau (Chetek, Wis./Chetek-Weyerhaeuser) being honored for their accomplishments as Yellowjackets.
- Despite both teams scoring 22 points in the first half, the Eagles shot 42.8 percent (9-21) from the field compared to the 'Jackets' 29.6 percent (8-27).
- Reid Johnson (Chatfield, Minn./Chatfield) led the scoring for the 'Jackets, scoring 14 points while accounting for one steal and two boards.
- Joey Barker (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior), Max Briggs (Woodbury, Minn./New Life Academy) and Kunelius each finished with seven points.
- Northwestern saw Jeremiah Lavelle (12) and Elijah Burns (10) score in the double-digits, while Micah Pocernich and Kelton Vincent scored nine and eight points, respectively.
- Walker tabbed 35 minutes on the hardwood, his sixth game of the season with 35+ minutes played.
- UW-Superior scored 28 points courtesy of players off the bench, as the Eagles scored 21.
UWS now hits the road for the remainder of the regular season, as they face Minnesota Morris Friday inside James Gremmels Court. The opening tipoff is tabbed for 7:15 p.m.
