After three straight road games to open the season, the UW-Superior men's basketball team finally found themselves playing in the friendly confines of Mertz Mortorelli Gymnasium for the first time Saturday night.
And the Yellowjackets made themselves right at home, overcoming a slow start to pull away late in the first half before cruising for a comfortable 86-46 win over Finlandia in game two of the Merrill Thompson Tipoff Classic.
UW-Superior sealed the win early in the second half, carrying over a late 7-0 run to end the opening frame by scoring the first 19 points of the final stanza on the way to taking a commanding 50-18 edge following a free throw by freshman Zach Schradle (Clayton, Wis.) with 15:41 remaining in the contest.
From there, the Lions never got closer than 27 points as the Yellowjackets improved to 2-2 on the season while Finlandia fell to 1-7.
Matters started slowly for the Yellowjackets early in the first half, as a combination of missed shots and turnovers led to a 7-2 Finlandia lead after two free throws by the Lions' Jonah Benoit with 14:13 left in the opening frame.
The game remained close over the next 8:04 with the Yellowjackets holding a slight 13-12 lead at the 6:09 mark of the half.
But UW-Superior would begin to pull way over the final five minutes of the opening half, outscoring Finlandia 18-6 the rest of the way to take a 31-18 lead following a layup by Schradle as time expired.
Bronson Byrne (Chanhassen, Minn./Chaska) started the run for the Yellowjackets with a layup with 5:44 left before 11 points from Jarrod Peterson (Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata) and a three-pointer from Johnathon Scott in the final 5:14 helped UW-Superior head into the intermission holding a 13-point cushion.
The Yellowjackets continued to surge early in the second half, getting a three-pointer from Brian Lindblom (Spooner, Wis./Spooner) on their first possession, a layup from Byrne and another three by Peterson to take a 39-18 edge with 18:24 remaining and forcing a Finlandia timeout.
UW-Superior scored the next 11 points for a 50-18 lead before a basket by the Lions' Darryl Brown finally stopped the run with an inside basket at the 15:06 mark of the second half.
Offensively, the Yellowjackets were led by Peterson's game-high 18 points. Caleb Burch (Eau Claire, Wis./Altoona) was also solid for UW-Superior with 11 points while Aaron Corry (Lake Nebagamon, Wis./Northwestern) pitched in with six points and a game-high 12 rebounds.
Finlandia was paced by Brandon Robinson with 11 points while shooting just 20.3 percent (13-of-64) from the floor and committing 22 turnovers.
The Yellowjackets will face Concordia (Moorhead) at Mertz Mortorelli Gymnasium in the championship game of the Merrill Thompson Tipoff Classic on Sunday after the Cobbers' 81-55 win over St. Scholastica in game one of the tournament. Opening tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m.