MADISON, Wis. – It was the type of Senior Night you dreamt up as a kid. A packed and loud home court, dozens of family members present and a down-to-the wire matchup with a league-leading opponent. Dylan Rusch was at his best late Saturday afternoon at the Edgedome by scoring a career-high 34 points in a thrilling, 96-94 overtime win over NACC-leading Aurora University. With the win the Eagles are now 12-12 overall and 11-8 in the NACC and can clinch a No. 4 seed in the upcoming NACC championship tournament by beating Lakeland on Wednesday.
In overtime, Rusch hit his fourth and final three-pointer of the night with 2:35 left to go up 93-90. The Eagles stretched their lead to five on the next possession on a Trevor Neale layup with 1:31 left, but the Spartans proved for the second time that they weren't going down without a fight.
Aurora found themselves down 95-92 with just 13 seconds left after one free throw apiece from Nick Kladis and Kalmon Stokes on the Spartans' next two possessions. Senior Joe Klocek grabbed Stokes' missed free throw and was fouled immediately. He hit his first but was off on the second, giving Aurora the ball down 96-92 with 12 seconds remaining. Gavin Walker converted on a layup with six seconds still on the clock to make it a two-point game.
On the ensuing inbound, Rusch received the pass from Matt Savatski but was tied up immediately with a pair of Aurora players. The referees called a jump ball to give the Spartans one last shot down 96-94 with just two seconds remaining. Brandon Smith, who finished with 22 points for the Spartans, received the inbounds pass and took one dribble but was off the mark on a jumper from the elbow. It was the second time the Eagles have defeated the Spartans, who have clinched at least a share of the NACC regular season title, in the 2014-15 season.
The end of regulation proved to be just as exhilarating. The Spartans trailed 85-80 after Tal Diekvoss knocked down two free throws with 21 seconds left, but Stokes was there for the answer by hitting a clutch triple eight seconds later to make it 85-83. Rusch was fouled and hit 1-of-2 free throws with 10 seconds on the clock to give the Spartans a chance to tie it. Stokes was off the mark on his three-point attempt but snagged the rebound with five seconds left. Smith then kicked it out to Kladis on the left wing, who promptly buried the deep ball at the buzzer to send it to the extra frame.
In all, there were 13 lead changes and seven ties in the grind-it-out win for the Eagles. They led by 10 as late as the 9:39 mark of the first half, but Smith's 11 points in the first half brought the Spartans to within 34-31 at the break. No team led by more than five points in the second half until Rusch hit a three-pointer with 2:00 left to make it 78-72.
Rusch totaled 34 points on 8-of-18 shooting, including a 4-for-9 mark from deep. He also went 14-of-18 from the charity stripe and had six assists. His previous career-high was 29 a little over a year ago at home against Rockford. Diekvoss, another one of the six seniors honored on the day, had 19 points and hit five triples while fellow senior Trevor Neale had 13 on 5-of-9 shooting with nine boards.
Stokes (26) and Smith (22) led the Spartans while Tyler Hall added 19 before fouling out late in the second. Aurora was also hurt by their performance at the free throw line after going 15-of-31 (48.4%).
The Eagles' matchup with Lakeland will take place on Wednesday, February 18 at 7 pm at Woltzen Gymnasium. If the Eagles record the win they will host a quarterfinal game on Saturday, Feb. 21 at 2 pm at the Edgedome.
