The Aurora University Spartans defeated Dominican University in the Northern Athletics Conference (NAC) Championship Game 70-64 on Saturday, February 27 in AU's Thornton Gymnasium, giving the Spartans
their fourth consecutive NAC title and fourth straight NCAA Division III Championships appearance.
Tensions were mounting in the contest even before the tip off when the rowdy crowds from both schools silenced the announcements of the starting lineups.
Spartan senior guard Ari Iventosch came out firing with the first seven points of the game for the Spartans and stunning the visiting Stars.
Defense was the name of the game for the first ten minutes as neither team got into any sort of rhythm and the Spartans led 12-6.
The Stars were able to battle back and knot the contest at 21 with 5:30 to go in
the opening half.
Two minutes later the Stars took their first lead of the game (23-21) on a jumper by junior reserve forward Jason Pontone.
The Spartans had a clear look at a buzzer beater to take the lead going into the half but it came up a little short and the Stars went into the locker room with a one point lead at 26-25.
After scoring the first seven points of the game Iventosch led the Spartans first half scoring with 12 points while senior forward Lance Robinson took ch
arge of the boards with 10 rebounds.
The Stars were led by Pontone's seven points and six rebounds off the bench.
The pace of the game really picked up in the second half with both teams knowing that their seasons were on the line and both crowds were relentless throughout the second half as both teams continued their torrid scoring pace.
The Stars jumped out on the veteran Spartans, opening the second half on a 8-1 run, giving the visitors a 34-26 lead with 17:30 to play.
The Spartans chipped away at the Star lead over the next seven minutes
and when Spartan senior forward
Shane Roland took the ball to the rim hard with 10:47 left, AU had tied the game at 47.
But the Stars junior guard Marquis Turley followed with a quick basket to give the Stars the lead right back.
Folllowing a Dominican timeout with 10:15 to play, the pace of the game really slowed down as only four points were scored combined for the next four minutes and with 5:40 to go in the contest, Dominican still held a two-point lead at 51-49.
Turley knocked down a jumper with 5:10 to play, giving the Stars a three-point lead at 53-50 and that s
eemed to awaken the veteran Spartans.
AU followed the Turley basket by back-to-back three-point plays (lay-up and fouls) by Iventosch and Roland and when junior guard Damian Lewis drained a three-point field goal from corner pocket with 1:11 to play, AU had a commanding six-point lead at 63-57. The Lewis three capped off a 13-4 run by the Spartans.
The final minute of play turned into a free-throw contest with AU senior Dusty Magee tallying the final seven Spartan points from the free-throw line.
The Spartans could smell their fourth consecutive Conference Championship as they stepped out onto the court after their final time out with eight seconds to play.
The Stars sprinted down the court and missed two three point shots in the final seconds as the Spartans took their championship with a score of 70-64.
The Spartans were led by Iventosch's 26 points and six rebounds, Magee had 19 points, going seven-of-eight from the free-throw line in the closing minute and Lance Robinson posted a double-double with 11 points and 19 rebounds, seven coming off the offensive glass.
AU will find out the location, opponent and time of their Division III NCAA Championships contest on Monday, March 1, 2010.
