Superior, WI - The MLC men's basketball team gave a hard-nosed effort on Saturday afternoon against UW-Superior and came within three points of the Yellowjackets midway through the second half, but J'Vaun Walker made the plays necessary down the stretch and UW-Superior pulled away with the 72-51 win.

The final score would not be indicative of the Knights' performance though as the men got off to a 10-2 start in the opening minutes. MLC put together solid ball movement and found penetration in the paint to do what they wanted.

The Yellowjackets would then buckle down defensively after a timeout and navigated themselves to a 10-0 run that put them up 12-10 at the 13:04 mark in the first quarter. From there, Walker got into rhythm and connected on consecutive 3-pointers from the same spot on the court and put the Yellowjackets up 29-19 with six minutes remaining in the first half.

Heading into halftime, UW-Superior was up 38-29 and benefited from shooting 44.4 percent from deep, while MLC shot 20 percent. 

Seth Veers and Micah Kieselhorst converted on some layups to keep MLC in the game and a pair of Thomas Balge free throws trimmed the deficit down to 42-39. However, Walker took control of the offense once again and rattled off seven of his team's 10-point run and the Yellowjackets went up 52-39 with 9:22 left.

Despite the loss, MLC shot nearly 92 percent from the free throw line and had three players reach double figures with Kieselhorst scoring 11 points, while Balge and Veers had 10 points apiece.

Next up for the men (2-13, 2-5) is a home game that will be played down at Luther Prep against Maranatha Baptist. The game will be on Monday, January 22, at 7 p.m.