Vid Milenkovic (Left) Photo by Yellowjacket Athletics
Mason Ackley (Right) Photo by Holden Law

North Central’s Micah Filer’s 3-point attempted hit the back iron as the UW-Superior men’s basketball team hung on for a 76-75 victory against the Rams at Mertz Mortorelli Gym on Saturday, Feb. 8.

Neither team had a lead of larger than three points in the first half until Senior Vid Milenkovic (Zurich, Switzerland/DSB Belgrade (Serbia)) took a pass from Mac Reykdal (Washburn, Wis./Washburn) and laid it in for a 36-32 lead with 3:44 remaining. Milenkovic then hit a jumper with 10 seconds left for a 47-42 halftime score.

The ‘Jackets led by as many as seven in the second half before North Central found its way back. Filer hit a 3-pointer for a 69-67 NCU lead with 6:44 to play, but Superior limited the Rams to 2-for-9 from the floor the rest of the game.

The Rams gabbed a 73-71 lead on a Jalen Dunlap layup with 3:08 to play, before Eli Vogel (Appleton, Wis./Appleton West) responded with a 3-pointer for a 74-73 UWS lead. Allen Anderson (Brooklyn Park, Minn./Osseo) fouled Justin Castro on the next trip and Castro knocked down both to help North Central regain the lead. With 29 seconds remaining, Anderson was fouled beyond the arc. He drained 2-of-3 to give the lead back to the Yellowjackets.

Seth Fuqua missed a free-throw line jumper with 13 seconds remaining and Joe Kramer (Elk River, Minn./Elk River) was fouled on the rebound. He missed the front end of the 1-and-1, giving NCU one final chance for the winner, but Filer’s attempt was off.

Superior placed four starters in double figures, led by freshman Mason Ackley (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior) with a career- and game-high 26 points on 11-for-14 shooting. Milenkovic added 20 points and seven rebounds, while Vogel chipped in with 15 and Anderson 10.

The ‘Jackets shot 50 percent from the floor, hitting 27-of-54 shots on the day, compared to 43 percent for the Rams.

The win for the ‘Jackets is their fourth consecutive, moving UWS to 14-7 overall and 11-1 in the UMAC. The Rams fell to 5-17 overall and 2-10 in the league.

UWS returns to the court at St. Scholastica on Wednesday, Feb. 12 at 5:30 p.m.