The Aurora University Spartans defeated their biggest rival in the Benedictine University Eagles 80-66
Tuesday night in front of a packed Thornton Gymnasium crowd on senior night
The Spartans raced out to an 8-0 lead two minutes into the game behind two senior guard Ari Iventosch three pointers and a layup by senior forward Brandon Scott.
The Eagles would fight their way back into the game, as they managed to cut the Spartan lead to 16-13 with 11 minutes left.
The Spartans maintained their five point advantage at 23-18 with eight minutes left as senior forward Shane Roland led the way with five points during the three minute span.
The Spartans still held on to the five point advantage in the final four minutes at 30-25, this time behind contributions from jun ior guard Damian Lewis and Iventosch.
However, the Eagles tied the game at 30-30 with two minutes left off a three pointer by BU senior guard Michael Fahey.
The Spartans would regain the lead in the final seconds behind another Roland three pointer, making the score 34-32 at halftime. Iventosc
h led all scorers with 11 points in the half.
The Eagles opened the second half on fire, as they took their first lead of the game and made the score 38-37 with sixteen minutes left.
The Eagle lead would be short-lived though, as a basket by yet another AU senior, forward Lance Robinson and three pointer by Lewis gave the Spartans back the lead at 47-42 with thirteen minutes remaining.
Minutes later, the Spartans extended their lead to 53-42 behind another Lewis basket.
All in all, before a Benedictine timeout with eight minutes left, the Spartans had put together a 22-7 run since Benedictine took their first lead early in the half to make the score 59-45.
Yet, the Eagles fought back, as back to back possessions with three pointers allowed the Eagles to trim the Spartan lead to 64-56 with five minutes remaining.
The Spartans still held a narrow advantage at 70-64 with two minutes to play. The Eagles would never get any closer, as senior guard Dusty Magee hit a number of free throws down the stretch, giving the Spartans a 80-66 win over Benedictine.
Top Spartan performers included all five seniors; Iventosch (18 points), Magee (17 points), Roland (15 points), Robinson (14 points, seven rebounds and seven assists), Scott (two points and four rebounds and junior Damian Lewis (10 points).
With the win, the Spartans extend their winning streak to eight games and improve to 15-9 (11-5 NAC) while the Eagles fall to 13-11 (7-9 NAC).
Next action for the Spartans comes on Saturday, February 20, 2010, against Concordia University Wisconsin in the annual NAC Challenge Game. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m. in Mequon, Wis.
