A strong second half comeback fell just short as the Aurora University men's basketball team fell 67-63 at North Central College on Tuesday night in Naperville,Illinois.

AU jumped out to 5-0 lead 3:30 into the contest with four points from senior Brandon Smith. The two teams then traded baskets and leads for a major point of the first half.and with five minutes remaining, the Spartans trailed by three at 25-22.

Following the three-point field goal by Smith, the Spartans got cold from the field and North Central finished the half on a 19-3 run to take a 19-point lead into halftime at 44-25.

The start of the second half looked bleak for the Spartans as North Central led by 23 with 17:52 to play at 50-27.

AU started chipping into the lead but with 6:23 to play they still trailed by 16 (60-44). A three-point basket by Smith at that time started a 12-0 AU run over the next 3:20. Smith had seven points with senior Kyle Pilmer adding three points in the run.

With 1:06 to go, the Spartans cut the lead down to two on a jumper in the paint from Tyler Hall. The games excitement continued to grow as North Central extended the lead back to four with two free throws and 29 seconds to play.

Coming out of a North Central timeout, Pilmer hit a quick jumper in the paint to again cut the lead back down to two and forced another Cardinal timeout.

Following two made free-throws by North Central, AU had several chances to cut into the lead again but missed two free throws and two three-point attempts in the final seconds for the 67-63 loss.

Smith led all scorers with 30 points on 11-of-19 shooting from the field including five-of-nine from three's. Pilmer added 11 points, Kalmon Stokes grabbed nine rebounds and Hall had eight points, six rebounds and five assists.

With the loss, AU is now 2-2 overall. Next action for the Spartan men's basketball team comes on Saturday, November 29 when they host Concordia University Wisconsin. Game time is set for 4:15 p.m. in Thornton Gymnasium.