Turnovers hadn't proven to be much of a problem for the UW-Superior men's basketball team through the first seven games of the 2012-2013 campaign. Saturday afternoon proved to be a different story however. And UW-LaCrosse Eagles were more than willing to take full advantage.
The Yellowjackets committed 17 turnovers, 11 of which came in the second half, and watched the Eagles' Luke Tweed pour in a game-high 20 points as UW-LaCrosse pulled away after halftime to notch a 69-58 win over UW-Superior at Mertz Mortorelli Gymnasium.
UW-Superior fell to 2-6 overall and 0-3 in the WIAC despite shooting 54.2 percent (26-of-48) from the field and 57.1 percent (4-of-7) from three point range. The Eagles meanwhile improved to 7-1 overall and 2-1 in league play by committing just eight turnovers for the game.
The Yellowjackets got off to a fast start in the opening half, getting early baskets from Bronson Byrne (Chanhassen, Minn./Chaska) and Brendan Bauer (Eleva, Wis./Gilmanton) on the way to taking a 4-0 lead with 18:33 left in the first half.
UW-LaCrosse came right back, ripping off a 14-4 burst over the next 5:38 to take a 14-8 lead following a three-pointer by Cale Zuiker with 12:55 left in the opening period.
UW-Superior responded with a run of their own, outscoring the Eagles 9-2 to take a slim 17-16 lead after a jumper by Austin Cahill with 9:24 showing on the clock.
Following a timeout, the Eagles scored 13 of the next 15 points, getting two long three-pointers from Braden Trice along with a breakaway dunk from Tweed and two free throws by Lucas Morrissey, and a layup by Jeff Heiden to take a 29-19 lead with 3:13 left in the opening stanza.
Eight straight points from UW-Superior brought the Yellowjackets to within 29-27 after a jumper by Johnquez Brooks (Las Vegas, Nev.) with 41 seconds left before Morrissey's short jumper in the final nine seconds allowed the Eagles to take a 31-27 lead into the intermission.
The Yellowjackets came right back early in the second half, taking the lead at 43-41 on two free throws by Jarrod Peterson (Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata) with 15:29 left in regulation.
UW-LaCrosse retook the lead with 15:10 left on a three-pointer by Heiden to make it a 44-43 and never looked back, pulling away over the next several minutes before taking their largest lead of the game at 69-55 on a layup by Morrissey with just 2:13 left in the second half.
Byrne led the way for the Yellowjackets offensively, scoring 16 points on 8-of-9 shooting. Bauer added 12 points while Peterson finished with 11 points.
Along with Tweed's 20 points, the Eagles got 16 points from Heiden.
The Yellowjackets return to action Wednesday, traveling to Zorn Arena to take on the UW-Eau Claire Blugolds. Opening tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. The game can be heard locally on 91.3 FM KUWS with Matt Johnson and Monte Stewart on the call.