The Aurora University men's basketball team hosted North Central College for a non-conference battle. The Spartans would win in an overtime nail-biter 81-79 with a lay-up from
Julian Gatewood with 2.1 seconds to play being the game-winner.
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FINAL SCORE: Aurora University 81, North Central College 79
LOCATION: Thornton Gymnasium - Aurora, Illinois
RECORDS: Aurora University 2-1 overall; North Central College 2-1 overall
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- AU faced their largest deficit at 11 (19-8) with 11:15 left in the first-half.
- The Spartans trailed 19-14 halfway through the first half.
Michael Osborne and
Joevonn McCottry led the Spartans scoring with six points a piece to that point.
- With 7:02 left in the first half,
Nathan Yockey knocks down a three to bring the Spartan within two at 21-19.
- In back-to-back possessions,
Justin Wilson scored to bring the Spartans within one at 30-29.
- With five seconds left in the first half,
Noah Butler drove for a layup to give the Spartans a 33-32 lead going into halftime.
- The Spartans brought up the tempo in the first two and a half minutes scoring the first eight points of the second half and led 41-32 and forced a NCC timeout.
- With 9:50 left in the game,
Justin Wilson knocked down the jumper to expand the Spartans lead to 52-48.
- AU would give up the lead with 6:18 to go and eventually trailed by five with just under three minutes to play.
- A short time later and with 2:05 left in the game,
Noah Butler knocked down the free throws to tie the game at 63-63.
- The teams traded leads four times in the final two minutes but neither team could wrestle away a large lead.
- Tied at 69-69, the Spartans and Cardinals head to overtime.
- To start the overtime,
Noah Butler gets the and-one layup to take the lead 72-71.
- The overtime period would see the game tied three times and six lead changes.
- With 2:03 left in overtime,
JT Daniels converted the layup on a key offensive rebound to tie the game 76-76.
- With a
Justin Wilson free throw and
Noah Butler layup, AU led by three with 1:19 to play.
- NCC tied the game on a three with 59 seconds to play, setting up a dramatic final minute of action.
- An AU turnover and a missed basket from North Central gave AU the ball with eight second to play.
- Spartan
Julian Gatewood drove the lane for a basket to give the Spartans an 81-79 lead with 2.1 seconds to go.
- Au desperation shot by North Central went wide off the backboard as time expired and AU was victorious.
- The Spartans would win the overtime thriller, 81-79.
Points: Noah Butler (24),
Justin Wilson (15),
Julian Gatewood and
Michael Osborne (12)
Assists: Michael Osborne (4)
Rebounds: Julian Gatewood and
Michael Osborne (7)
Steals: JT Daniels and
Joevonn McCottry  (2)
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Next action for the Spartan Men's Basketball team comes when they travel to Augustana College on Saturday, November 19, in Carver P.E. Center. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m. in Rock Island, Illinois.