The Aurora University Spartan men's basketball team hosted Northern Athletics Conference opponent Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) Tuesday night. The Spartans looked for payback in Tuesday night's game as MSOE got the best of Aurora earlier on in the season with a 72-55 victory. Thanks to great defense and timely offense Aurora was able to defeat the Raiders 57-37.

Both teams struggled to get out of the gate offensively and after six minutes had elapsed from the game the score was only 3-2 favoring MSOE. Defense on both sides played a role in this low scoring sequence before Aurora exploded to take the lead.

Spartan junior forward Ryan Crow started off a 25-3 run by making back to back three-point field goals. He shot well from beyond the arc going three-of-seven in the game.

The Spartans continued to score basket after basket while their defense played spectacular. Freshman center Kyle Pilmer tallied three blocked shots during the 25-3 run. Aurora also managed to steal the ball five times during this period of the game.

AU's Scott Laskowski, a sophomore forward, capped off the offensive run by scoring on a layup. This put the Spartans up 27-6 with 5:36 remaining in the first half.

The Spartans suffocating defense kept the Raiders in single-digits on the scoreboard until two minutes remaining in the first-half. MSOE freshman forward Nathan Verdun hit a jumper to give the visitors their 10th point of the game. Aurora went on to lead by 21 points at the half with a score of 33-12.

Aurora played impressive basketball on both sides for the initial 20 minutes of the game. Their offense shot over 42% from the field and their defense allowed only 12 points. Aurora held MSOE to under 17% from the field (4-of-24) while racking up nine steals and six blocked shots.

Leading scorers at the half for AU were Crow (11 points) and Laskowski with 10.

After allowing MSOE the first two baskets of the second half, AU started to extend their lead once again. They went on a 9-2 run to find themselves up by 27 points (45-18) with 14:31 left in regulation.

By continuing to play well on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball, the Spartans did not allow the Raiders to climb back into the game. Aurora answered the attempts of MSOE with baskets of their own. The Spartans remained in the lead by 27 points with 7:40 left in the game. AU led by as many as 28 points (53-25 with 9:57 to play) in the second-half.

The Raiders held the Spartans off the scoreboard in the last 7:40 in the game. They went on a 7-0 run over that period of time to cut the lead but it was too little, too late for the visitors. Aurora came out on top by a score of 57-37.

All 16 Spartan players saw playing time Tuesday night in a well-rounded team effort.

With the win the Spartans improve their record to 10-10 on the season and 6-6 in the NAC. Their next game will be played at home in Thornton Gymnasium against Edgewood College on Saturday, February 4, with tip-off slated for 4:15 p.m.