SUPERIOR, Wis. – Wednesday evening the Yellowjacket men's basketball team saw their neighboring Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) opponent, the Northland LumberJacks, enter the Mertz for the second week of league play. After facing a tough non-conference slate, the Yellowjackets have started to get their feet under them, logging back-to-back wins to open the second half.
Superior maintained their winning ways, as
Andrew Kunelius (Caledonia, Minn./Caledonia) and
Reid Johnson (Chatfield, Minn./Chatfield) paced the offense to earn a 76-58 victory on their home court.
Game Notes
- The Yellowjackets took control from the get-go, scoring the first 13 points of the game. Joey Barker (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior) and T.J. Moberg (Champlin, Minn./Champlin Park) logged back-to-back layups before Kunelius started to heat up.
- Midway through the half Superior saw offensive production from Evan Bennett (Superior, Wis./Superior) and Hayden Quimby (Menasha, Wis./Xavier), who led the way for J'Vaun Walker (Rosharon, Texas/Manvel) to log his first from the free throw line.
- Northland began to collect points courtesy of Jahlani Thornton and Finnley Powell, but the Yellowjackets snatched the momentum right back with Johnson and Kunelius pacing. After the duo came together for a layup with 29 seconds left in the half, the 'Jackets took an 18-point cushion into the break, leading 45-27.
- Johnson and Walker attacked the paint with a barrage of layups. Johnson drew a foul and was sent to the line for two, draining both attempts and establishing a 30-point lead at 60-29.
- Head coach Greg Polkowski turned to his bench for the remainder of the game. Landen Thomer (Mosinee, Wis./Mosinee) and Luke Fehrenbacher (Batavia, Ill./Batavia) each logged a pair of points before Amory Peterson (Brooklyn Park, Minn./Champlin Park) took a feed from Carson Armstrong (Wautoma, Wis./Wautoma) to finish a layup.
- Northland started to chip away in the latter half, coming within 14 with under a minute remaining, but the damage had been done as Superior logged their third win in a row at 76-58.
- The LumberJacks were led by Jahlani Thornton, who logged a double-double after scoring 20 points and grabbing a team-best 14 boards.
- Kunelius led with 18 points while Johnson was right behind him with 16.
- Walker had eight points and seven rebounds, while six Yellowjackets were responsible for four points.
- The 'Jackets scored 56 points inside the paint, along with logging 14 fast break points.
UWS will bring a three-game winning streak inside LSC Gymnasium Saturday, as they take on Martin Luther. The opening tip is set for 3 p.m. in New Ulm, Minn.
