The Aurora University men's basketball team grabbed a lead late in the first-half and never looked back as they defeated the Falcons of Concordia University Wisconsin 101-94.
 
THE BASICS:
FINAL SCORE: Aurora University 101, Concordia University Wisconsin 94
LOCATION:  Lancaster Court in Thornton Gymnasium - Aurora, Illinois
RECORDS: Aurora University 6-2 overall and 4-0 in the NACC; Concordia University Wisconsin 5-3 overall and 4-2 in the NACC.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
CUW came out firing as AU went 0-for-3 from three-point range and led 7-0 forcing a quick 30 second timeout by the Spartans.
The visitors had their largest lead of the game (15-7) with 14:28 to play in the first-half.
A 13-2 Spartan run led by six Ty Carlson and five Jovonn Griffin points gave AU a 20-17 lead with 11:05 to play.
The teams battled back and forth over the remaining time in the first-half with the Spartans leading by as many as five and trailing by six with 5:05 to go.
Over the final five minutes, AU out scored CUW 18-8 including a 6-2 run to end the half.
At halftime, the Spartans led 51-47 behind 14 points from Griffin, nine from Marcus Myers and Jordan LaGrone and eight from Carlson.
Spartan Chris Mahoney provided a spark off the bench, going two-for-two from three-point range.
A 16-6 Spartan run started the second-half as AU pushed the tempo and their lead to 14 (67-53).
Midway through the second, AU held their largest lead of 15 points (77-62) on a jumper from Max Vickers.
CUW chipped into the lead, getting within six (84-78) before the Spartans pushed back to double-digits with a Pat Kramp three and a pair of Griffin free-throws.
With 1:01 to play in the game, AU saw their lead dwindle to just two (96-94) but the Spartans ran off five points and got stops on defense for the 101-94 victory.

FOR THE SPARTANS
Jovonn Griffin had a game-high 28 points, six rebounds and four assists.
Marcus Myers had a double-double with 20 points, 11 rebounds and three assists.
Ty Carlson had a 16 points, eight rebounds and four steals.
Max Vickers had 10 points and six rebounds.
Jordan LaGrone had nine points off the bench on three-of-five shooting from three-point range.

SPARTAN STAT LEADERS
POINTS: Jovonn Griffin (28), Marcus Myers (20), Ty Carlson (16), Max Vickers (10) and Jordan LaGrone (9)
REBOUNDS: Marcus Myers (11), Ty Carlson (8), Jovonn Griffin and Max Vickers (6)
ASSISTS: Jovonn Griffin (4), Marcus Myers and Matt Dunn (3)
STEALS: Ty Carlson (4) and Max Vickers (2)

UP NEXT:
Next action for the Spartan men's basketball team comes on Wednesday, December 14 when they host Benedictine University. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m. on Lancaster Court in Thornton Gymnasium.