The Aurora University Spartans men's basketball team opened up the 2014-2015 season in the newly renovated Thornton Gymnasium on Tuesday night versus the Millikin University Big Blue. After a low scoring start, the Spartans picked up the tempo to win 90-67.
 

AU started off the scoring in the first minute as senior Brandon Smith drained a three to get the crowd into the game. The Big Blue were quick to answer with a three of their own and seemed to answer all of the Aurora baskets in the early parts of play. AU's largest lead over the first 13 minutes of the game was just five points.

With 7:32 left in the first half, the Spartans only led by a single point, but Spartan head coach James Lancaster must had some effective words of encouragement for his team during a visitor timeout that followed a monster dunk by junior Kalmon Stokes that got the home crowd on its feet. AU would finish the half on a 19-6 run and go into the locker room with a 39-25 lead.

In the first half, Aurora was led in scoring by junior Tyler Hall (nine points) and freshman Denzel Irving (six points). The defense for the Spartans was a much bigger factor in the lead as they held Millikin to just 25-percent (8-of-32) shooting overall.

The second half of play was a lot like the late minutes of the first half as the Spartans controlled the tempo of the game. After the Spartans opened up a 23 point (53-30) advantage just over two minutes into the second-half, Lancaster went to his bench. Millikin made a run of their own though, pulling within 12 points (56-44) with 14 minutes left to play.

At that point Lancaster brought back some of his starters and key subs and the Spartan defensive intensity picked up and the lead quickly grew back to a comfortable margin and reached a game-high 28 points (76-48) following a 20-4 run over a 6:30 time frame.

AU would eventually cruise to a 23-point victory, 90-67. With the win, AU is now 1-0 on the season. AU's win comes as a product of their effectiveness on both sides of the ball. They finished the game shooting 47.8-percent (33-of-69) while holding the Big Blue to only 32.8-percent (19-of-58) shooting.

Hall finished the game with 19 points while Smith added 14 and Irving finished with 10 in his collegiate debut. Defensively, senior Gavin Walker forced six steals to go along five rebounds, four assists and seven points. Irving and Smith each came down with seven rebounds while senior Kyle Pilmer gathered six. 12 of the 15 Spartans to play scored a basket.

Next action for the Spartan men's basketball team comes on Friday, November 21 when they travel to the Carthage College Tip-Off Classic. AU takes on the University of Wisconsin-Lacrosse at 6:00 p.m. in Kenosha, Wisconsin.