What a difference 72 hours makes.  UW-Superior, which lost to UW-Whitewater 79-63 Saturday night in the final game of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference season, used three point shooting in the first half and clutch free throws as the clock ticked off to defeat UW-W 78-72 in the first round of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament in Kachel Gym in Williams Center in Whitewater Tuesday night.  Superior, 15-11 overall and the sixth seed in the tourney, will advance to face top-seeded UW-Stevens Point Thursday in a semifinal game.  UW-W, the third seed in the tourney, finishes the year 17-9.

box score

photo gallery (all photos courtesy of Tim Gumz, all photos are for sale)

Superior jumped out to a 7-2 lead, five of those coming from senior forward Jake Smith.  A three by senior forward Marcus Helland increased the Yellowjacket margin to six, 10-4 at 15:46.  The Warhawks followed with a 6-0 run to tie the game on a layup by sophomore forward Luke Knoble (Boscobel/Boscobel) at 14:26.  A three from Helland and basket by sernior guard Dan Culy put UW-S in front by five, 15-10 with 13:28 in the half.  UW-W tied it again at 15-15.  Superior went back up 21-17, but another run, this time 8-0, by Whitewater put the Warhawks in front 25-21 at the 6:53 mark.  The lead changed hands three more times in the last 5:22 of the half, ending with UW-S in front 34-33 at the break.

UW-S was hot from beyond the arc in the first twenty minutes, hitting 6-9.  With their outside shooting clicking, the Yellowjackets did not go to the line, and Whitewater was just 3-3.  Junior foward Alex Edmunds (Cedarburg/Cedarburg) led Whitewater with ten points, with Knoble and junior center Chris Davis (Madison/East) adding nine each.  UW-S was topped by Smith's ten points, with Culy contributing eight.

Tied at 38-38 early in the second half, UW-S scored nine unanswered points to lead 47-38 with 14:28 left.  Davis finally scored at 14:12 to end a Whitewater drought that had lasted since 18:03.  Smith hit a jumper at 11:15 to give the Yellowjackets their largest lead, 53-42.  A Knoble layup cut Whitewater's deficit to 56-51 at 7:42, and at 5:03 senior guard DJ Dantzler (Joliet, IL/Joliet Township) hit a pair of free throws to bring UW-W within 61-57.  Superior bumped the margin up to 71-64, but sophomore guard Antone Byrd (Milwaukee/Washington) put in a pair of free throws to bring Whitewater back to 71-66 with 1:27 on the clock.  Two three's by senior guard Phil Negri (Minocqua/Lakeland) over the next minute, and one by Byrd with just 0:35 left got UW-W within two, 74-72.  Smith foiled the foul strategy by hitting two free throws with 0:31 left, and Helland made it final with two more with eleven seconds left.  The Yellowjackets hit five of six free throws in the last 0:48 of the game.

Superior finished 10-19 from beyond the arc, the second most threes by a Warhawk opponent this season (12 by Defiance College November 19).  Whitewater was 8-23 from three point range.  Superior made all 12 of its free throws, in 16 attempts, in the second half when Whitewater went 9-9 in the half and 12-12 in the game, the third time this season the Warhawks did not miss a free throw in a game.

Smith, who scored 21 and 18 in the two meetings between the teams this season, led five Yellowjackets in double figures with 18 points.  Culy and senior center Greg Roeder added 15 each, Helland 11, and junior guard Dustin Ritchie 10.  Smith also led UW-S with six rebounds and five assists.  Davis, who totaled 47 points in the regular season versus Superior, led Whitewater with 21 points before fouling out with 2:10 left.  Edmunds scored 18 on 7-10 shooting, and Knoble had 11.  Davis and Edmunds each had five rebounds. 

For additional information:  Pat Miller, UW-W coach