SUPERIOR, Wis. – The University of Minnesota Morris men's basketball team closed out the regular season with a 73-67 win against the University of Wisconsin-Superior in Upper Midwest Athletic Conference play Saturday night in Superior, Wis.
 
The Cougars finished the regular season in second place in the UMAC, earning a home playoff game with a 8-4 conference record, and moved to 13-12 overall. The Yellowjackets end the season 6-19 overall and 2-10 in the conference.
 
After some crisp ball movement, Thomas Tiernan found a lane and drove in for the opening basket. The Yellowjackets responded with the next 10 points. Carvin Fish sparked a Cougar run with a jumper, Kaden Pieper followed with a three, and Fish capped the run with a layup. Another 10-point run by UWS put the Yellowjackets ahead by 11 before Pieper went 2-for-2 at the line. The lead was cut to seven after a bucket from Brian LaRoche Jr. Matt Thompson then connected on back-to-back threes to make it 25-19. Fish and Thompson helped pull UMM closer with a layup and another three. A driving layup from Pieper tied the game at 28-28 with just over four minutes left in the half. UWS answered with a late run, but Pieper knocked down another three before the break to make the score 40-35.
 
Thompson grabbed an offensive rebound and scored to open the second half. Fish added the next four points, followed by a layup from Tiernan to put the Cougars back in front. The lead changed hands several times as the teams traded baskets. Thompson and Fish helped extend the lead to five. A 7-0 Cougar run, capped by a Tiernan three, gave Minnesota Morris a double-digit lead and forced a UWS timeout. After a brief Yellowjackets run, LeRoy Staples-Fairbanks IV pushed the lead back to double digits with a transition layup. Thompson stayed hot from beyond the arc with his fourth three of the game. Each time UW-Superior made a push, the Cougars answered to maintain their advantage. Gustav Gunderson extended the lead to 12 with his first points of the game. In the final minutes, UWS cut the deficit to seven, but Minnesota Morris held on for the 73-67 victory.
 
Thompson led the team with 21 points, missing just one shot all game as he went 7-for-8 from the field, 5-of-6 from three, and 2-of-2 at the line. Pieper followed with 19 points, while Fish and Tiernan also reached double figures with 16 and 10, respectively. As a team, the Cougars shot 44.4 percent from the field, 38.1 percent from three, and 56.3 percent from the free-throw line. Tiernan and Gunderson each recorded a team-high six assists.
 
Defensively, Fish recorded a double-double with 11 rebounds, his sixth of the season. UMM outrebounded the Yellowjackets 34-33. Pieper and Gunderson each had two steals to lead the team, and Staples-Fairbanks, Pieper, and Gunderson each recorded a block.
 
The Cougars will host the first round of the UMAC Playoffs on Wednesday against Crown College.