Having suffered two difficult losses in the past week, the UW-Superior men's basketball team entered Saturday afternoon's WIAC conference contest against UW-Oshkosh looking set a positive tone for the remainder of the season's first month.

And the Yellowjackets did just that, expanding a three-point halftime lead to 16 in the second half and then holding off a late Titans push to claim a 77-71 win at Mertz Mortorelli Gymnasium.

With the win, UW-Superior improved to 3-4 overall and 1-1 in WIAC play heading into Tuesday's non-conference home tilt with Northwestern while UW-Oshkosh fell to 1-5 overall and 0-2 in league play.

The Yellowjackets got off to a fast start in the first half, taking a 7-2 lead behind a layup from Bronson Byrne (Chanhassen, Minn./Chaska) and five points from Jarrod Peterson (Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata) in the first 4:56 of the opening half.

UW-Superior's advantage grew to 11-5 on another layup by Byrne with 11:49 showing on the clock.

The Titans responded quickly however, outscoring the Yellowjackets 13-2 over the next 3:48 to take a 17-13 lead following a driving layup by Dylan Wurtz with 8:01 remaining in the first half.

UW-Oshkosh upped their lead to 20-15 on a three pointer by Wurtz at the 7:08 mark and still lead 26-21 with 4:09 left before the Yellowjackets scored the final eight points of the half to take a 29-26 lead into the intermission.

Johnathon Scott started the run for UW-Superior with a three-pointer and two free throws to even matters at 26-26 with 40 seconds left on the clock.  Zach Schradle (Clayton, Wis.) finished the run for the Yellowjackets, converting a three-point play in the final 14 seconds to give UW-Superior the lead at the break.

In the second half, an inside basket by Aaron Corry (Lake Nebagamon, Wis./Northwestern) and three-pointers by Brian Lindblom (Spooner, Wis./Spooner) and Schradle in the opening 2:17 gave the Yellowjackets a 37-28 advantage with 17:43 left in regulation.

Another three by Lindblom upped the margin to 40-28 as UW-Superior finally took their largest lead at 48-32 on a three-pointer by Tilyn Hollis (Minneapolis, Minn.) at the 14:21 mark.

UW-Superior continued to hold a double-digit lead until a basket by Alex Olson cut the Yellowjackets' lead to 66-58 with just 3:38 remaining in regulation.

But the Titans would get no closer than five points the rest of the way as the Yellowjackets connected on eight free throws in the final 1:24 to clinch the victory.

Hollis led the way for the Yellowjackets with a career-high 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting, including going 4-of-6 from three-point range. Peterson added 16 points while Lindblom finished with 14 points and Byrne 10 for UW-Superior.

UW-Oshkosh was paced by Olson with 18 points. Jade Royston finished with 14 points while Wurtz and Max Schebel pitched in with 12 each for the Titans.

Opening tipoff for Tuesday's game with Northwestern is set for 7:30 p.m.  The game will be broadcast live on 91.3 FM KUWS with Matt Johnson on the call.