Box Score

SUPERIOR, Wis. – After enduring a three-game skid, the University of Northwestern men's basketball team righted its ship on Tuesday with a 79-67 win over the University of Wisconsin-Superior. The Eagles received 30 points from their bench and scored 20 points off of 15 Yellow Jacket turnovers to help propel the Purple and Gold to victory.

Northwestern trailed early in the game, not tasting a lead until Blake Van Maanen (Oshkosh, Wis./Valley Christian) nailed a three-pointer at the 10:09 mark of the first half to give the Eagles a slight 15-12 edge. The UNW advantage lasted for two minutes until Superior started a back-and-forth exchange that saw the Yellow Jackets own a one-point, 31-30 buffer at halftime thanks to Bronson Byrne's layup with 12 seconds left in the period.

Trailing by three in the first minute of the second half, Northwestern went on a 6-0 run that turned the tide in Northwestern's favor for good thanks to consecutive jumpers from Steven Willey (Fort Calhoun, Neb./Fort Calhoun) and additional points from Van Maanen. While Michael Carney (Ames, Iowa/Des Moines Christian)'s layup pushed the Eagles' edge to six, UW-Superior did its best to stay in the game as Johnathan Scott's eventual three-pointer kept the Yellow Jackets within reach at 42-40.

Willey continued to pour on the offense, supported by points in the paint by Thomas Shephard (Crystal, N.D./Valley-Edinburg) as the Eagles buffer spilled into double digits with 8:45 left to go in the game. Superior wasn't able to come any closer than eight points down the stretch before the final horn sounded with UNW claiming a 79-67 win.

The Eagles made 46 percent of their attempts on the night, going 28-61 from the floor and 10 of 25 from downtown while making all 13 of their opportunities at the free throw line. The Yellow Jackets managed to counter with a 41 percent shooting rate and a 33 percent success mark from long range. Willey was one of four Northwestern players to score 10 or more points as his 20 points and eight assists led the team. Carney added 19 points with Van Maanen's 4-7 mark from behind the three-point line putting the junior at 14 points for the night. Both Eric Witthus (Chanhassen, Minn./Chanhassen) and Will Gisler (Stewartville, Minn./Stewartville) had seven rebounds in the victory.

Jarrod Peterson led Superior with 24 points on 9-16 shooting, adding six rebounds. Aaron Corry hauled in 10 boards for the Yellow Jackets (3-5).

Now 3-4 in the 2013-14 season, Northwestern returns home for its final home nonconference game against Luther College on Friday. The Eagles and Norse will tip off at approximately 7:30 p.m. in the Ericksen Center.