The Aurora University men's basketball team lost a non-conference contest to Albion College on Wednesday afternoon 83-77. AU was knocked off behind a remarkable effort from Albion guard Arshawn Parker.

THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Albion College 83, Aurora University 77
LOCATION: Lancaster Court in Thornton Gymnasium - Aurora, Illinois
RECORDS: Aurora University 3-6 overall; Albion College 6-3 overall

HOW IT HAPPENED
- AU opened the game with a three from Brandon James but Albion answered with a 9-0 run to force a Spartan timeout with 16:28 left in the first-half.
- The Spartans responded with a 10-2 run which was capped off by a three from sophomore Justin Wierzgac.
- With 9:23 left in the opening half, AU trailed Albion 20-17.
- Behind strong rebounding and defensive pressure, the Spartans went on a 16-2 run over the next five minutes and led the Britons 33-22.
- The lead built to 16 at the halftime buzzer as Bailey Vance was fouled with the basket counting as time expired. He made the free-throw to get the three-point play/
- Going to half, AU led Albion 44-28.
- Over the first 4:30 of the second half, the teams traded runs and AU led by 20 at 58-38 following a Vance three point basket.
- A key moment in the early minutes of the second-half was a timeout called during a loose ball by the Spartans. That timeout left AU with just one over the final 16:36 of the game.
- Albion made a run and cut the game to a 13-point AU lead but Wierzgac hit a three from the top of the key to give the Spartans a 61-45 lead with 12:33 to play.
- Down the stretch though, Albion senior Arshawn Parker was the story. Parker entered the game with 14:37 left in the game and Albion down 20. He would score 34 of the Britons final 45 points including a stretch of 25 straight points for the visitors.
- The run for Parker and Albion started following a two-point basket by Spartan Jarek Hotwagner with 9:54 to go. The basket gave the Spartans a 63-52 lead.
- Over the next 8:38, Parker scored 25 points and helped the visitors take a 77-73 lead with 1:16 left in the game. 
- AU was not done though as Vance made a basket, gathered his rebound on a missed free-throw and made a lay-up. The four-point possession made the score 79-77 Albion with 46 seconds left.
- Though on the next possession, Parker made a lay-up through traffic just before the shot clock expired.
- Albion added two free throws and defeated AU 83-77.
 
TOP SPARTAN PERFORMERS
- Bailey Vance had a double-double with 21 points and 11 rebounds, while adding five assists and three steals.
- Tyler Carlson had 15 points and six rebounds.
- Matt Dunn had 13 points and seven assists..

FOR THE VISITORS - ALBION
- Arshawn Parker scored 38 points in 24 minutes on 15-of-17 shooting from the field and 4-of-5 from three-point range.
- Caden Ebeling had a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds.

SPARTAN GAME STAT LEADERS
POINTS: Bailey Vance (21), Tyler Carlson (15) and Matt Dunn (13)
REBOUNDS: Bailey Vance (11) 
ASSISTS: Matt Dunn (7) 
STEALS: Bailey Vance (3)

UP NEXT
Next action for the Spartan men's basketball team comes on Saturday, December 29 when they travel to Trinity University (Texas). Game time is set for 2:00 p.m. in San Antonio, Texas.