Lancaster Court in Thornton Gymnasium on the campus of Aurora University was the site for the latest contest between longtime rivals, the Spartans and Eagles of Benedictine University. AU prevailed in thrilling and nail-biting fashion 81-79.

THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Aurora University 81, Benedictine University 79
LOCATION: Aurora, Illinois - Lancaster Court in Thornton Gymnasium
RECORDS: Aurora University 8-7 overall, 7-3 NACC; Benedictine University 8-7 overall
ATTENDANCE: 843

HOW IT HAPPENED
- The always anticipated contest between AU and BU lived up to its hype this evening with the game coming down to the final play in the final second of the game.
- Much like a heavyweight championship fight, the Spartans and Eagles traded shots throughout the first-half. Five minutes in though, following a 6-0 run, the visitors led 14-8.
- The Spartans answered with a 7-1 run and led 21-19 with 11;30 to play.
- Benedictine regained the lead and led for the next eight minutes before AU exploded for a 12-0 run.
- The 12-0 AU run was fueled by four BU turnovers and the Spartan transition game.
- When the run ended, the Spartans took a 46-42 lead into halftime.
- The Spartans maintained the lead for the first 14 minutes of the second-half and led by as many as 10 (57-47) with 14:32 to play.
- A key moment in the game came over a 27 second span when Spartan guard Marcus Myers went from one to four fouls and had to head to the AU bench.
- Spartan senior Shane Murray though came up huge with Myers on the bench, helping build a 69-62 lead with 9:13 to play.
- Benedictine though, began an 11-0 run and led 73-69 with 4:42 to play in the game.
- The visitors led 77-72 with 3:16 to go and forcing a Spartan timeout.
- Head Coach Lance Robinson from AU though dialed up the right recipe during the timeout as AU picked up the pressure on defense and took an 80-77 lead on a three ball from Pat Kramp.
- With a BU timeout and 20.6 seconds to play, the game went a little haywire. AU turned the ball over but the Eagles then gave the ball right back to the Spartans with Pat Kramp coming up with the loose ball and got fouled with 7.2 seconds on the clock. He went 1-of-2 from the free throw line.
- The Eagles and Brayden Olson would then step out of bounds with one second to play giving AU the ball back up 81-79.
- The craziness was not yet over. On the ensuing inbounds play, an AU pass hit a side backboard in the rafters of Thornton Gymnasium, giving the Eagles the ball back with one second to go under their own basket.
- The Benedictine pass in to the lane was to high as the clock ran out and AU was victorious 81-79.
 
FOR THE SPARTANS
- Marcus Myers had a game-high with 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the field, adding five assists and two steals..
- Ty Carlson had 14 points, going 7-of-8 from the free-throw line
- Matt Dunn had 13 points and four assists while going 5-of-9 from the field..
- Max Vickers had 13 points.
- Shane Murray had 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field off the AU bench. 
 
SPARTAN STAT LEADERS
POINTS: Marcus Myers (22), Ty Carlson (14), Matt Dunn and Max Vickers (13), and Shane Murray (12)
REBOUNDS: Ty Carlson and Marcus Myers (4)
ASSISTS: Marcus Myers (5)
STEALS: Marcus Myers, Ty Carlson and Pat Kramp (2)
 
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