As the UW-Superior men's basketball team prepared to take the court Saturday afternoon, the day figured to be one the Yellowjackets would long remember.  After all, forward Jake Smith (Rhinelander, Wis.) stood on the verge of breaking the school's 44-year-old scoring record. 

And while Smith proved successful in his bid to become UW-Superior's all-time scoring leader, it was the performance of UW-LaCrosse star Tony Mane that stole the show. 

Mane netted 37 points while connecting on 14-of-21 shots, leading the Eagles to a 75-63 win over the Yellowjackets before a boisterous crowd at Mertz Mortorelli Gymnasium.

The loss proved bittersweet for Smith and the Yellowjackets (11-10 overall, 3-9 WIAC)  as the senior scored 13 points, breaking Jim Sevals' school record of 1794 career points with a short jumper over UW-LaCrosse's Al Chery with 1:57 remaining in the opening half, bringing the Yellowjackets to within seven just before the intermission.

But it was Mane who would carry the day, scoring 19 of his points in the first 20 minutes to help the Eagles take a 39-31 lead while shooting 53 percent from the field through halftime.

The Yellowjackets would make a run in the second half,  getting 13 points in the frame from Dan Culy (Rice Lake, Wis.) , and twice cutting the lead to four points, the latest being at 57-53 following a Culy jumper midway through the second half.

Mane would again take over late however, scoring on a runner through the lane to up the Eagles' advantage to 59-53 before getting a steal and converting a three-point play on the next possession to up UW-LaCrosse's bulge to 62-53 with under eight minutes left in regulation.

From there, the Yellowjackets would get no closer than six points as the Eagles got four key free throws from Mane in the last two minutes to pull away for the 12-point win.

Along with Mane's 37 points, the Eagles (12-10, 7-6) got 17 points from Jordan Rumpel on 8-of-13 shooting from the field.

Culy's 16 points paced the Yellowjackets while Smith added 13 points and Ben Aalfs (Hutchinson, Minn.) contributed 11 for UW-Superior.

The Yellowjackets will head to UW-Stout for a conference contest on Wednesday starting at 7 p.m