SUPERIOR — It got close, but Wisconsin-Superior men's basketball had enough cushion to take down Minnesota Morris 82-74 in an Upper Midwest Athletic Conference game at Mertz Mortorelli Gym.
The Yellowjackets led 40-31 at the break, but the visiting Cougars whittled the advantage from 11 down to 2 with 13:20 to play.
The UWS offense found a gear, scoring on layups on four straight possessions to go up eight just past the halfway point of the period. Morris continued to push but the Yellowjackets' offense pushed back, allowing them to go back up double digits and see out the win at the free throw line. UWS made 48% (12 of 25) from the field in the second half.
J'Vaun Walker finished with 23 points, including 10 of 12 attempts at the free throw line, to lead all scorers. Josef Fahrenholtz notched 18 points and nine rebounds.
The Yellowjackets clinched a spot in the four-team UMAC tournament with the victory and can host a semifinal next weekend by winning their regular season finale vs. Crown on Saturday or a North Central loss.
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MEN'S HOCKEY
Yellowjackets stunned by last-place Northland
After a deflating final weekend of the regular season, Wisconsin-Superior fell victim to a last-place Northland team in Game 1 of a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament series on Friday.
The 3-1 Lumberjacks victory means UWS must win both Game 2 of the series on Saturday back at Wessman Arena and a subsequent 20-minute mini-game to advance to the league semifinals.
Chris Ishmael put UWS in front with 3:07 left in the first period, but the Yellowjackets offense was stymied from there despite a 37-24 shot advantage and a 36-17 edge in the faceoff circle.
Jack Craycroft tied the game just short of the halfway point for his first goal of the season and Northland took the lead at 6:59 of the third period from Brendan Charlton before scoring an empty-netter. The win was Northland's first since Dec. 3, snapping an 0-12-1 string.
Myles Hektor made 21 saves for UWS.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
UWS holds on to top Cougars
Wisconsin-Superior was outscored 17-9 in the fourth quarter of a close game but held on for a critical 54-52 UMAC win over Minnesota Morris on Friday night at Mertz Mortorelli Gym.
UWS knocked down three threes in the third quarter and held a 45-35 lead but on a night they were charged with 31 turnovers, the offense went dry down the stretch. UWS was just 2 of 9 in the fourth quarter (both from 3-point range).
Morris took a brief lead on a Tariq Brownotter trey with 3:29 to play but a pair of Katie Dobson free throws on the other end put UWS back in front and a Mady Sanders 3 on the next possession added to the cushion.
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Morris made one more 3, with 40 seconds left to make it a one-point game and had the ball with 14 seconds left, but a drive to the basket for the final play came up shy as UWS held on.
Kaelyn Christian led UWS with 14 points, while Brownotter's 16 off the bench for Morris led all scorers.
The win preserved UWS's playoff hopes, which will come down to a heads-up game vs. Crown for the fourth and final playoff spot on Saturday in Superior.
WOMEN'S HOCKEY
Hayes strikes in OT for Yellowjackets
C.C. Hayes' second goal of the game for Wisconsin-Superior got the Yellowjackets out of trouble with a 2-1 win at Northland on Friday in Ashland.
UWS took the lead 25 seconds into the second period on Hayes' first goal but ended up getting dragged into overtime when Northland's Maddy Bloedel scored an equalizer with 46 seconds to play.
However, Hayes bagged an unassisted winner 1:10 into the extra session to deny the Lumberjills their first WIAC victory of the season.
Teagen Johnson made 43 saves for Northland, while Molly Black stopped 20 shots for UWS (10-14, 3-8 WIAC). The teams meet again in Ashland on Saturday.
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