A huge first-half run led the Aurora University men's basketball team past the Sabres of Marian University on Saturday afternoon on Lancaster Court in Thornton Gymnasium. A 20-1 run within a 43-15 run was all the Spartans would need as they won 91-74.

THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE:  Aurora University 91; Marian University 74
LOCATION: Aurora, Illinois – Thornton Gymnasium
RECORDS: Aurora University 10-6; 8-3 NACC; Marian University 5-12; 4-8 NACC
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Sabers started the game off hot going up 7-0 just two minutes into the game and forcing an early AU timeout.
AU saw Marian hold a 10-point lead twice in the first five minutes of the game and with 15:22 to go, AU trailed 15-5.
A 14-2 Spartan run gave AU the lead (23-19) with 10:39 to play. Within that run, the Spartans ran off a 10-0 run with several good plays by Ty Carlson on both ends of the court.
Leading by three (28-25), the Spartans blew the game open with a 20-1 run. Matt Dunn started it with a three from the corner as the Spartans scored from all over led by Dunn, Marcus Myers and Ty Carlson.
The Spartans ended up shooting 50-percent (7-of-14) from beyond the three point line in the first half while the Sabers shot only 35% from the field.
AU led 48-30 at halftime.
After Marian scored the first points (three-pointer) of the second half, AU continued to extend their lead, responding with an 11-2 run  with seven points from Max Vickers.
The Spartans reached their largest lead of the game when Donte Stephenson made a layup to go up by 26 with 11:32 to play.
Late in the game Marian implemented a full court press against the AU bench which troubled the Spartans for a few possessions bringing the lead down to 16 with 3:44 to play.
AU Head Coach Lance Robinson called upon his starters to quickly stem the tide and they quickly figured out the press and sealed the deal down the stretch for the Spartans.
The Spartans went home happy with a 91-74 NACC win.
 
FOR THE SPARTANS
Marcus Myers led the Spartans with double-double of 22 points and 12 rebounds
Ty Carlson had 19 points and five rebounds
Max Vickers recorded 17 points and seven rebounds on the game.
Matt Dunn had 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field.
Pat Kramp had 10 points and six rebounds.
 
SPARTAN STAT LEADERS
POINTS: Marcus Myers (22), Ty Carlson (19) and Max Vickers (17)
REBOUNDS: Marcus Myers (12), Max Vickers (7) and Pat Kramp (6)
ASSISTS: Marcus Myers (4) and Matt Dunn (2)
STEALS: Marcus Myers (3) and Matt Dunn (2)
 
UP NEXT
Next action for the Spartan men's basketball team comes on Sunday, January 22 when they host Lakeland University. Game time is set for 3:00 p.m. on Lancaster Court in Thornton Gymnasium.