SUPERIOR, Wis. – Saturday the Yellowjacket men's basketball team faced off against Martin Luther inside the Mertz. Apart from one week in Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) play Superior has fared well in league action and looked to build on Wednesday's victory over Northwestern to advance in conference standings.
The Knights were not one of the five teams entering Saturday in a tie for first but certainly gave the Yellowjackets a run for their money, as they attempted to shake up the circuit in the final weeks of the regular season.
Midway through the first half MLC took a lead and maintained it through halftime. The 'Jackets woke up and traded the lead with the Knights until a late foul sent MLC's Seth Veers to the line. He split his free throws and both teams were unable to score, forcing an overtime session.
Reid Johnson (Chatfield, Minn./Chatfield) spearheaded the offensive effort and
J'Vaun Walker (Rosharon, Texas/Manvel) secured the win after converting his two shots from the free throw line to defeat the Knights 78-72.
Game Notes
- The opening nine minutes saw both teams stay within striking distance of each other, trading points and the lead. Joey Barker (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior) and T.J. Moberg (Champlin, Minn./Champlin Park) scored the first four points for Superior, while Johnson and Andrew Beers (Slinger, Wis./Slinger) shortly followed to regain an early 10-9 lead.
- Martin Luther began to take control and led by nine after a pair of three pointers and success at the charity stripe. A layup from Johnson and a long ball from Barker brought the 'Jackets within four, and with a steal-and-score from Walker the contest was tied at 25-25.
- With just a couple of minutes remaining in the half, the Knights and Yellowjackets exchanged blows until Benjamin Pearson for MLC drew a foul after hitting a jumper, as he completed the three-point play to give Martin Luther a three-point edge heading into the break.
- Superior began to take control early in the second, beginning with Johnson logging a tip-in layup after grabbing his own board before Barker took a feed from Walker and drained a shot beyond the arc to tie things up at 32-32.
- Teams once again exchanged points and the lead until the Knights were up by six at 49-43. They later garnered a seven-point advantage until Walker and Johnson gave UWS the lead. Action continued with both teams once again trading the lead until a Yellowjacket foul sent Veers to the line. He would split his free throws and neither team was able to log a shot afterwards, leading to an extra five minutes of play.
- From there Johnson and Walker began the scoring as free basketball ensued. After the Knights took a small lead Johnson scored seven-straight before Walker secured the 78-72 win with a pair of successful free throws.
- Johnson led with 22 points, while Walker was right behind with 20.
- Barker logged his second double-double of the year after garnering 18 points and a career-high 13 rebounds.
The Yellowjackets remain in a tie of first place alongside North Central, Bethany Lutheran and Minnesota Morris. Superior will travel to Kendrigan Gymnasium Wednesday as they take on Northland College. The opening tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m. in Ashland.
