ST. PAUL, Minn. – The University of Northwestern men's basketball team welcomed undefeated UMAC foe, UW-Superior to the Ericksen Center for a Wednesday night tilt. Five Eagles put together double-digit offensive performances to hand the Yellowjackets their first conference loss of the year in a 98-85 final.
 
UNW improves to 11-6 on the year and 7-1 in the UMAC, while Superior falls to 10-7 (7-1 in league play).
 
Northwestern got off to a strong start, going up 7-2 just three minutes into action. Sophomore Kyle Kaemingk (Woodbury, Minn./New Life Academy) helped the early run, draining two shots from long range in the opening minutes. The Eagles kep the three-ball flying as 16 of UNW's first 20 points came as a result.
 
Despite leading by as much as 8 in the half, the Yellowjackets tied it up and took the lead (35-34) with 3:34 on the clock. Following three more lead changes, UW-Superior got a second chance layup to go with time expiring in the half – heading into intermission with a 41-40 lead.
 
Kaemingk led the Eagles with 12 first half points, shooting 4-for-5 from the field.
 
To open second half play, the Yellowjackets put together their biggest lead of six (59-53) before UNW began their comeback. Kaemingk continued to fuel the Eagle offense, scoring nine points in the first nine minutes. The Eagles tied it up following a three-pointer from Brady Peterson (Princeton, Minn./Homeschool) and second chance foul drawn by Noah Alm (Forest Lake, Minn./Forest Lake).
 
The Eagles increased their lead to 10 (81-71) following back-to-back three-pointers from Alm, forcing a Superior timeout with just under five minutes remaining.
 
UNW held onto the lead and connected on 11 of 12 free throws down the stretch to secure the 98-85 final win.
 
Kaemingk led the way with 23 points, shooting nine of 11 from the field and making all three shots from beyond the arc. Noah Alm (Forest Lake, Minn./Forest Lake) tacked on 19 points after shooting a perfect eight of eight from the line.
 
Michael Moore (Twinsburg, Ohio/Twinsburg) finished just shy of a triple double with 17 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds. Solomon Bach (Watertown, S.D./Watertown) tacked on 15 points and Brady Peterson (Princeton, Minn./Homeschool) added 10 on the night.
 
The Eagles scored 21 fast break points and shot 20 of 23 from the charity stripe to overpower the Yellowjackets.
 
Tonight's match-up marked Coaches vs. Cancer night. Both staff's coaches wore suits and sneakers to support childhood cancer research and prevention. So far this season, $36,000 has been raised by uniting basketball coaches across the country. We would love for you to join us in this initiative. Donate now specifically to Northwestern's campaign (supporting the American Cancer Society) at the following link: https://pledgeit.org/cvc20-unw.
 
The Eagles will return to action on Saturday, Jan. 25 when they travel to Ashland, Wis. to take on Northland. Tipoff is slated for 3:00 p.m. against the Lumberjacks.
 
Follow UNW men's basketball online all season long at www.unweagles.com or on Twitter and Instagram at @unweagles.