ST. LOUIS, Mo. - The University of Dubuque men's basketball season comes to an end on Friday evening as the Illinois College Blueboys hit a buzzer beater to defeat the Spartans 57-59. The Spartans end their season at 21-7. 

In their first NCAA Tournament game since 2022, the Spartans were able to start with the momentum going up 5-0 in the first two minutes of the game. The Spartans built a 20-13 lead with 8:23 left in the first half which was the largest lead of the half by the Spartans. Holding Illinois College to just four points in the final six minutes of the half, the Spartans managed a six point lead. The Spartans did have numerous opportunities to lead by much more, but missed free throws and a few short shots did not roll in favor of the Spartans. 

Illinois College came out on a run to start the second half as the Spartans lead quickly disappeared and turned into a five point lead for Illinois College. The Spartans were able to fight their way back and battle back and forth and eventually be tied at 40-40 with 11:43 remaining. From there, the Spartans went on a 6-0 run to regain the six point advantage they had at the half. Leading by seven (55-48) with 3:31 left in the game, Illinois College on back-to-back possessions hit a three-pointer and trimmed the Spartans lead to just one. With only a one point lead with just over a minute remaining, the Spartans nearly had a shot clock violation, but Jaylin McCants finished a layup to go back up by three. After two turnovers in the late stages of the game, Illinois College had the final shot and with 2.2 seconds left, and with a turnaround heave it went straight through the net ending the Spartans season in heartbreak. 

McCants finished with a game-high 21 points and eight rebounds and Brock Simon added 11 points. Sam Kilburg nearly had himself a double-double with nine points, nine rebounds. Dylan Andersoncame up big on the boards snagging 14 rebounds with eight on the offensive glass. 

The careers of Anderson, Simon, Myles Leavy, Jerrod Jessie Jr. come to an end. Kilburg finishes his fourth year with the Spartans, but does have an extra year if he chooses to do so. 

The Spartans finish the season 21-7 overall.