SUPERIOR, Wis. – The already-congested UMAC Men's Basketball standings became even more crowded Wednesday night when top-ranked University of Northwestern was defeated by the University of Wisconsin-Superior, 87-78. Northwestern had just ascended to the number one spot in the conference race on Saturday, and with the loss is now tied for the top spot with four teams, including UW-Superior, who are all 6-3 in conference play this season. The Eagles and Yellowjackets nearly mirrored each other in field goals (32-57 for UNW, 31-55 for UWS), but it was Superior's advantage behind the arc and at the free throw line that gave the hosts the edge.
UW-Superior came out of the gates hot after losing the first matchup between the two teams. An 8-0 start to the game was ended by a backdoor layup from
Japheth Nyamari (Anoka, Minn./Anoka).
Caden Stevens (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Mountain Vista) made a driving floater on the following possession, but the Yellowjackets opened up a 14-4 lead, as the theme of struggling to get stops began to take shape for the visitors. Stevens cut the lead to seven with a conventional three-point play, then a
Noah Frazell (Waverly, Iowa/Waverly-Shell Rock) three from behind the arc made it a four-point game and a 6-0 UNW stretch.
Elijah Burns (Grand Prairie, Texas/Roseville Area) got on the board with a layup on the Eagles' next trip and Frazell knocked down another triple a minute later, but Northwestern still trailed, 20-15. Superior's lead grew to 10 again before
Soren Anderson (Perham, Minn./Perham) made consecutive layups to pull within six. Frazell locked in defensively, blocking a shot and stealing the ball on the same possession, which led to a
Kelton Vincent (Volga, S.D./Sioux Valley) layup to make the score 25-21 after another 6-0 run by UNW.
With 7:29 to go in the first half,
AJ Greene (Roseville, Minn./Concordia Academy) stepped into the kitchen to begin cooking. The sophomore hit a fadeaway jump shot to keep the deficit at four, then after a 7-0 run by the Jackets, proceeded to knock down jumpers on three-straight possessions. Despite his efforts, the Eagles still trailed by nine, but Stevens soon stepped up with another and-one to pull within seven with 3:07 remaining in the opening half. Frazell buried a tough shot with 2:11 left, then Stevens and Anderson closed out the half with two free throws apiece to get Northwestern into the half trailing by just five, 43-38. Both teams shot the ball exceptionally well in the opening 20 minutes, but it felt like UNW was fortunate to be within five.
The Yellowjackets started the second half much like the first, using a 6-0 run to re-establish control before Vincent knocked down a pull-up jumper. A Greene fade-away and a three from Stevens on consecutive trips kept the Eagles within single digits, then a layup by Anderson, followed by back-to-back baseline jumpers by Greene, made it 58-51. The sophomore from Roseville was officially on fire from mid-range. A Stevens tip-in was followed by a
Lewis Wolbert (Milaca, Minn./Milaca) jump shot, but every time UNW would get the deficit within six or seven, its opponent always seemed to have an answer. That began to change at the halfway point of the second half.
Trailing by 10, Northwestern put together an 8-0 run to seize momentum and pull within two points. It happened rather quickly too, as a Stevens step-back jumper, a Burns layup and two Nyamari free throws occurred on consecutive possessions. Nyamari finished the run off with a layup, as his slow scoring game began to turn around. UWS was able to push its lead back up to 69-63, but the Eagles punched right back and ultimately took a 70-69 lead thanks to two Anderson points and five from Nyamari, including a three-point play that gave them their first lead of the entire night. The teams went back and forth in the final five minutes, with Northwestern getting jumpers from Greene and Nyamari, and two free throws from Wolbert, to keep things square at 76-all with 2:50 left in the game. Unfortunately for UNW, it would be all Superior from there. Nyamari went coast-to-coast for a layup with 40 seconds left, breaking up a 6-0 UWS run, but the Eagle were unable to make the shots and get the stops necessary to pull off the comeback, ultimately falling by an 87-78 margin.
Stevens was terrific, coming off the bench to lead UNW with 17 points, five rebounds and three blocks. Greene made eight of his 11 attempts for 16 points, while Nyamari finished with 15. Anderson tallied 10 points and four rebounds, while Frazell was steady all-around with eight points, six assists and five boards. Wolbert added three assists himself.
The upcoming schedule is a gauntlet for Northwestern, who hosts Minnesota Morris on Saturday at 1:00 PM for its annual Hoops Hysteria game. The Cougars are one of the four teams the Eagles are tied with atop the UMAC standings as of Wednesday night. Things are setting up for a fun and dramatic finish to the 2024-25 season.
