ST. PAUL -- The Northwestern College men's basketball team ran into a solid University of Wisconsin-Superior squad on Wednesday night and the Eagles didn't have enough defense to cover all of the Yellow Jackets' offensive weapons in an 81-65 loss. Superior drained over half of its attempts from the floor and a staggering 52 percent of its shots from behind the three-point line while the Eagles kept themselves within range until the final few minutes.

Both teams held a lead in the game's first ten minutes - NWC led by as much as five before the Yellow Jackets went on a 14-2 run and owned a 43-32 lead with 3:40 left in the first period. The Eagles cut the margin to seven before Superior's Dustin Ritchie made a layup to put the visitors up by nine at the break.

After Northwestern's Gabe Jefferson (Lincoln, Neb./Lincoln Southeast) (Lincoln, Neb./Southeast) opened the second half with a made jumper, Superior just took off, ballooning its advantage from seven to 14 in three minutes. Brian Lecheler (Abbotsford, Wis./Abbotsford) (Abbotsford, Wis./Abbotsford) hit a three-pointer at the 13:51 mark to cut the lead to 11, but, like many instances throughout the 40-minute game, the Yellow Jackets came back with an answer and more. With the exception of a shot from downtown by Nate Thompson (Fergus Falls, Minn./Hillcrest Lutheran Academy) (Fergus Falls, Minn./Hillcrest Lutheran Academy), the Eagles' river ran dry for six of the last eight minutes of the game while Superior continued to score, which resulted in the 81-65 lopsided final score.

While the Yellow Jackets had a hot hand, which included making nine of their 15 attempts from downtown in the first half, Northwestern had one of its better shooting performances of the young season. A 44 percent rate is still below what Eagles head coach Tim Grosz and his assistants are seeking, but it's something the team will build off of as they prepare for a trip to Luther College on Friday.

Tom Gisler (Stewartville, Minn./Stewartville) (Stewartville, Minn./Stewartville) had 10 of his 12 points for the game in the first half, going 3-5 overall and 2-4 from behind the three-point arc before finishing the game 4-10 from the field. Lecheler and Wade Chitwood (Grinnell, Iowa/Grinnell) (Grinnell, Iowa/Grinnell) added 10 points each while both leading the team in rebounding for the game with five boards apiece. As a team, NWC was out-rebounded 36-29.

On the other side of the court, the Eagles struggled to find an answer for Marcus Helland, who made nine of his 15 attempts while making five of eight 3-point attempts en route to a 25 point performance. Dan Culy only took three-point shots for the Jackets, but his five makes on eight attempts showcased another asset for Superior's offense. Jake Smith took credit for 18 points and nine rebounds as well.

Northwestern, now 4-3 after playing its final game at home in 2010, will go back to the drawing board before heading south on Friday to Decorah, Iowa, where Luther will welcome the Eagles for a 7 p.m. matchup. UW-Superior heads back to the south shore of Lake Superior with a 6-2 record.