AURORA, Ill. - David Bernard scored on a putback at the buzzer to hand the Benedictine men's basketball team a 65-64 win on the road over rival Aurora University. The victory handed Benedictine a share of its second consecutive Northern Athletics Conference South Division title and third in four years.

Bernard's dramatics capped a frantic second half which featured eight ties and eight lead changes. The drama was setup moments earlier. Nate Green hit a layup with just over a minute left to put Benedictine ahead 62-61 and connected on a free throw with :23 left to make the margin 63-61. Just seconds later Esteban Vega tied the game for Aurora with a layup and was fouled in the process. Vega stepped to the line and completed the three-point play with :10 on the clock, handing the hosts a 64-63 advantage. Green and Mark Pace both missed chances in the closing seconds before Bernard layed it in at the buzzer to produce a South Division title.

Benedictine looked as though they were going to run away with the game early, vaulting to a 25-14 lead with 7:44 left in the first half on a layup from Bernard. Aurora stormed back with an 11-2 run to pull within 27-25 at the 4:11 mark. Contino Hunter tied the game for the first time at 31 apiece with a pair of free throws, but Benedictine led 36-33 at the break thanks to a late triple from Jamison Montgomery.

Neither team led by more than four in the taught second half. Following the ninth tie of the night, Montgomery hit a j to put the Eagles in front 52-50. Aurora scored the next six points, opening a 56-52 lead with back-to-back threes from Joel Iventosch with 5:39 remaining. Aurora still led by three at 61-58 with 2:22 to go. Green scored five straight points including the layup and free throw to put Benedictine in front and set the stage for the final moments.

The contest featured a combined 14 turnovers. Benedictine hit six threes in the first half but finished 0-for-8 from beyond the arc in the second. The Eagles finished the game shooting 34.4 percent. Green again led Benedictine with 21 points, his fourth straight contest with 20 or more and his fifth consecutive time leading the team in scoring. Bernard added 14 including the game-winner.

Benedictine (12-12, 10-6), shared the South crown with Concordia Chicago but won the tiebreaker will head to Concordia Wisconsin, who won the North, for the NAC Challenge Game on Saturday afternoon. The Eagles topped Concordia earlier this year 66-65 at the Rice Center.