The Aurora University men's basketball team saw Joevonn McCottry nail a jumper as time was expiring to send the Spartans to victory over the Scots of Monmouth College on Tuesday afternoon. After holding a double digit lead going into the second half, AU was tied with the Scots going into the final possession, before McCottry ended the contest in Thornton Gymnasium.


FINAL SCORE: Aurora University 74, Monmouth College 71
LOCATION: Thornton Gymnasium - Aurora, Illinois
RECORDS: Aurora University 4-7 overall; Monmouth College 7-3 overall


- Monmouth started the game on a 10-0 scoring run.
- Dwayne Jervier Jr. knocked down four straight free throws to cut into the Scots early run.
- Halfway through the first half, AU saw themselves down 23-15.
- The Spartans followed this with a 13-2 run, highlighted by five points from Maxwell Marius.
- Joevonn McCottry started to catch fire at the end of the half, making a couple of treys. With 2:21 to go, AU led 36-27.
- Noah Butler got to the line with one second left in the first half and knocked down a couple of free throws.
- AU took a 42-31 lead after the first 20 minutes while shooting 60% from beyond the arc.
- The Spartan defense also held Monmouth to just 36% shooting from the field in the first half.
- Jeffery Hillmer started to catch fire at the start of the second half, as the Scots started to get their offense going as well. AU led 49-44 at about 14 and a half minutes left.
- Monmouth tied the game at 55 after making a three with 8:57 on the clock.
- That score remained tied at 65 about five minutes later at 3:36.
- Noah Butler went on a 4-0 run to give AU a 69-65 with two and a half minutes to go.
- The Scots followed this with a 6-2 run of their own to tie the score at 71, as the Spartans called a timeout with possession at 17 seconds remaining.
- This set the stage for McCottry, who sized up his man and made a step back jumper as the buzzer sounded.


Points: Joevonn McCottry (20), Noah Butler (13) and Dwayne Jervier Jr. (12)
Assists: Joevonn McCottry and Mekhi Doby (5), Jeffery Hillmer (3)
Rebounds: Joevonn McCottry (7)
Steals: Maxwell Marius (3)
Blocks: Noah Butler (2)


Next action for the Spartan men's basketball team comes on Saturday, January 4 when they travel to Concordia University Chicago. Opening tip is slated for 2:00 p.m. in River Forest, Illinois.