LISLE, IL - The Benedictine University men's basketball team failed to hold a first-half lead in falling to visiting Aurora University in the opener of the NACC Tournament.

FINAL SCORE
Aurora 74, Benedictine 67

THE DETAILS
• Benedictine led for the entire first half, getting off to a hot start from the floor
• Cade Ellingson hit a three to open the game and Nick Kosich knocked down back-to-back triples as Benedictine opened a 9-2 early lead
• A layup from Chris Hester extended the lead to 11-2 and prompted an early timeout
• Marvin Agwomoh dropped in a layup with 6:55 left in the first half to kick off a 14-0 run that made the score 43-24 on two free throws from Hester
• Aurora cut the lead to 11 at halftime and slowly picked away at the margin in the second half
• A 7-0 run brought Aurora within 56-55 and three free throws tied the score at 60-60 with 8:49 to play
• Free throws opened another 7-0 run as Aurora led for the first time, building a 67-61 lead with 5:54 left
• Benedictine pulled within two points but missed a layup to tie and Aurora closed the game with a 7-2 spurt to steal the win

STAT LEADERS
• Benedictine shot 58 percent in the first half but just 27 percent in the second, finishing at 42.2 percent
• Benedictine held Aurora without an offensive rebound for over 27 minutes of the game, controlling the glass early and finishing with a 41-36 edge on the glass
• Five players reached double figures for Benedictine
• Hester finished with a double-double, scoring 14 points and adding 11 rebounds
• Trevor Montiel finished with 14 points as well while Kosich contributed 12, Ellingson 10 and Agwomoh 10