In a game that the University of Wisconsin-Superior men's basketball needed in terms of conference positioning, the Yellowjackets got just that with a 73-67 overtime win against UW-River Falls Wednesday night at Mertz Mortorelli Gym.
With the win, the 'Jackets move into a four-way tie in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference with UW-Eau Claire, UW-River Falls, and UW-La Crosse.
For most of Wednesday's game, the Falcons controlled tempo. UWRF led the entire first half and went up by 13 points with 2:12 remaining in the half.
As things started looking bleak for the Yellowjackets, things suddenly turned around. UWS went on a 6-0 run to end the first half and hoped to carry the momentum over into the second half.
Wishful thinking.
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The Falcons reached a 13-point lead twice in the first three minutes of the second half. With 12 minutes remaining, the Yellowjackets made their move. A Ray Byrns three-point basket jumpstarted a 6-0 run. Shane Manor's layup with 7:53 remaining cut the Falcons lead to four.
Nearly four minutes later, another Manor layup brought the 'Jackets to within two. The next Yellowjacket possession, would result in a Jake Smith jump shot, tying the game at 57 a piece.
The 'Jackets earned their first lead of the night when Manor drove to the hoop again, and in addition to scoring the basket, Manor was fouled. Unable to complete the three-point play, UWS led 59-57.
After exchanging baskets back and forth, UWS found itself down two with 20 seconds left. That is when Smith hit a lay-up to tie the game at 63 and send it into overtime.
In overtime it was all Superior. Dan Culy, Manor, and Byrns all converted baskets for the Yellowjackets, giving them the six-point win.
UWS was led in scoring by Smith's 24 points. Manor chipped in 18 and Culy added 16. Byrns came off the bench to have a team-high nine rebounds.
UWRF was led by Jontae Koonkaew's 19 points.
"Overall I was pleased with two areas," UWS coach Dave Buchanan said. "One, was our ability to stay calm when we weren't hitting shots early. We stayed poised and battled through a cold stretch. Two, our ability to defend in the second half and overtime. To allow only 36 percent from the field in the second half, and 11 percent in overtime, was very important for us.
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"We know we need to defend much better to climb the conference ladder, and tonight was a good example of what we need to do. You aren't always going to be hitting on all cylinders offensively, but defense can always be there. Tonight was a good example of that."
The Yellowjackets return to action on at 3 p.m. Saturday when they face the highly ranked UW-Stevens Point Pointers. UWSP comes to town ranked No. 4 in the nation by D3Hoops.com.
