Heading into their final contest before the winter break, the UW-Superior men's basketball hoped to end the first half of the 2013-2014 on a high note. To say the Yellowjackets achieved that goal would be an understatement.
The Yellowjackets connected on 60.6 percent of their shots in the first half and racked up 26 assists as a team on the way to downing Buena Vista 95-68 at Mertz Mortorelli Gymnasium Saturday evening.
With the victory, UW-Superior (4-5) effectively bounced back from Tuesday's loss to Northwestern while putting together their most complete performance to date, holding the high-scoring Beavers 21 points below their season average and allowing Buena Vista to connect on just 38.1 percent of their field goals for the game.
The Yellowjackets started quickly, jumping out to an 11-1 lead just 4:38 into the contest behind four points from Jarrod Peterson (Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata), a three-pointer by Brian Lindblom (Spooner, Wis./Spooner), and two scores from Zach Schradle (Clayton, Wis.).
Buena Vista (4-4) battled back, cutting the deficit to 13-12 with 13:07 remaining after a three-pointer by Michael Kaufmann, a driving dunk by Cole Darrow and four straight free throws by Brett Heitkamp.
UW-Superior came right back however, scoring the next eight points to extend the margin to 21-12 at the 10:57 mark after two free throws by Lindblom, a driving layup by Johnathon Scott and consecutive scores from Peterson.
A Greg Sibenaller basket cut the deficit to 23-20 at the 9:28 left in the half before three-point shots from Aaron Corry (Lake Nebagamon, Wis./Northwestern), Scott, Peterson and Lindblom upped the Yellowjacket edge to 35-24 with 6:35 remaining.
The Yellowjackets continued to hold the lead for the remainder of the stanza and headed into halftime holding a 51-40 advantage after a Tilyn Hollis (Minneapolis, Minn.) three-pointer with 1:08 showing on the clock.
In the second half, the Yellowjackets began to pull away, going on a 7-3 run to up the lead to 58-43 with 17:33 left in regulation. Five of the seven points came from Bronson Byrne (Chanhassen, Minn./Chaska), who scored two layups and added a free throw during the burst.
A Cole Darrow three-pointer on the next possession brought Buena Vista to within 58-46 with17:14 left on the clock.
But Scott connected on a three-pointer at the 14:53 mark to make it a 61-46 lead and the Yellowjackets went on to score the next seven points for a 68-46 bulge following a free throw by Peterson with 12:51 remaining in the second half.
The Beavers never got closer than 20 points the rest of the way as the Yellowjackets shot 56.9 percent for the game (37-of-65), and connected on 11-of-21 three-point shots (52.4 percent).
Peterson led the way for UW-Superior with a game-high 32 points. Hollis added 14 points and seven assists while Lindblom chipped in with 12 points.
Buena Vista was led by Darrow and Sibenaller with nine points each.
The Yellowjackets return to action on Dec. 27 when they take on George Fox at the D3hoops.com Classic in Las Vegas, Nev. Opening tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m.