Playing games during the school year's annual holiday break is often difficult for college basketball teams.  And the first half between the UW-Superior men's basketball team and the Milwaukee School of Engineering proved to be no exception Tuesday night as the two teams combined to miss 34 shots during the opening 20 minutes.

Fortunately, the Yellowjackets managed to pick up their play in the second half however, taking a 14-point second half lead before holding off a Raiders' charge in the final three minutes to claim a 67-63 win at Mertz Mortorelli Gymnasium.

With the win, the Yellowjackets improved to 9-3 for the season while the Raiders fell to 10-4.

Both teams started slowly in the first half, with neither side able to find much offensive flow in the opening 20 minutes.

After the Raiders took a 4-2 lead on a jumper by Oren Bloom with 18:18 remaining in the first half, the Yellowjackets went on a 10-0 run from 16:52 to 14:10, getting five points each from seniors Jake Smith (Rhinelander, Wis.) and Marcus Helland (Baldwin, Wis.) during the spurt to take a 12-4 lead.

MSOE would chip away over the next several minutes, retaking the lead at 16-15 following a basket by Austin Meier with 9:37 showing on the clock.

UW-Superior would again assume control in the final seven minutes however, scoring six straight points when the score was 18-18 to take a 24-18 lead with 1:37 left following a three-point play by Smith, a free throw by Dan Culy (Rice Lake, Wis.) and a basket by Taylor Skoglund (Chisholm, Minn.).

After taking a 26-22 lead into the intermission, the Yellowjackets again found themselves behind after the Raiders outscored UW-Superior 11-5 to start the second half, culminating in a jumper by Victor Bande with 15:41 left that gave MSOE a 33-31 lead.

But the Yellowjackets would respond with a 12-2 run behind seven quick points from junior Ben Aalfs (Hutchinson, Minn.) along with a three-pointer from Helland and a score from Smith to take a 43-35 lead with 12:23 remaining.

UW-Superior continued to expand their lead, upping the advantage to 53-39 after a three-point play by Culy and a driving layup by Trent Davis (Apple Valley, Minn.) with 9:40 left.

The Raiders would steadily climb back, cutting a 62-49 deficit with 4:05 left to 64-61 following two free throws by Bennett Deacon with 29.3 seconds left.

UW-Superior would hold on however, getting two free throws from Culy and a single free throw from Smith in the last 26.3 seconds to seal the victory.

For the game, the Yellowjackets were led by Smith with 20 points while Helland added 16 points and Culy 14.  Aalfs contributed nine points while Dustin Ritchie (Superior, Wis.) pitched in with seven assists.

The Raiders were led by Meier with 14 points while Bande added 12.