MORRIS, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Morris men's basketball team built a 17-point lead in the middle of the second half, but let it slip away as foul trouble and turnovers from the Cougars helped the Yellow Jackets escape with a 76-67 win on Saturday at Jim Gremmels Court. The loss drops UMN Morris to 3-5 overall and in the UMAC for the season.
The first half was close throughout until a 9-2 run over the last 3:08 gave Minnesota Morris a 37-30 lead at the break.
Jaret Johnson connected on a three-pointer in the midst of that run as part of a 15-point first half for the sophomore.
Johnson added two more buckets as part of a 6-0 burst to open the second half. A few minutes later,
Kenneth Riley scored twice and
Ian Carlin muscled inside for a bucket to give Minnesota Morris its largest lead of the game, 58-41, with 11:24 to play. Wisconsin-Superior quickly got back into it with an 11-0 run before
Dillon Haider momentarily stemmed the tide with a three, leaving the score at 61-52 at the 8:41 mark.
Inside of seven minutes remaining, the Yellow Jackets converted and-ones on consecutive possessions to get within three. A pair of free throws and a three-pointer from Souleymane Gueye then put UW-Superior ahead, 65-63, with 4:29 to play. That lead was the first for the Yellow Jackets since 6:05 was left in the first half. Things continued to go UW-Superior's way as a foul was called on a three-pointer with just over three minutes left and Eli Vogel hit all three freebies to push the lead to five. A Riley basket with just under two minutes left gave the Cougars a ray of hope by slicing the deficit to seven, but that was quickly answered on the other end by a layup from J'Vaun Walker that basically put the game to bed.
Johnson tied for game-high scoring honors with 19 and also grabbed nine boards. Riley ended with 13 points and Haider added 11.
Will McBee was a spark off the bench with 10 points and six rebounds.
The UMAC Tournament will begin on March 4 with quarterfinal matchups to be determined after games are completed on Monday night. The Cougars will now play at Martin Luther College on Monday night at 7 p.m. in a non-conference game.
