AURORA, Ill. – The Edgewood College Eagles men's basketball squad headed down south one more time in the 2022-23 season for a matchup with the Aurora Spartans. The game was a crucial one for both teams' Northern Athletic Collegiate Conference (NACC) postseason hopes. The Eagles (7-17, 7-9 NACC) would find themselves in a close battle throughout, but would find enough points in a team-effort second half to push past the Spartans (12-11, 7-9 NACC) in a 70-61 victory.

HOW IT HAPPENED
- The two teams would trade 6-2 jabs early on in the hard-fought contest to set the tone of the evening. Both teams would jockey for position, neither squad leading by more than two from the 15:58 mark until Aurora put together five unanswered capped off with 2:23 left in the half. Edgewood College struck back in the next minute, taking the lead down to 29-28 with 1:04 remaining off of a Cade Ellingson three. Neither team would score in the final minute of the half.

- The Eagles shot only 4.48 (10-of-29) from the field in the half. The Spartans dominated in the paint to the tune of 18 points to Edgewood College's six.

- A jumper from Drew Houtakker with 19:23 left in the second half would give the Eagles' the lead back. They would never trail again. While Aurora would tie it multiple times in the ensuing minutes, including a 36-36 mark at 15:41, Edgewood College would put together a 9-2 rally with a pair of threes and a layup-and-one to set themselves up 45-38 at 11:40.

- The Spartans would erase most of the deficit with a 8-2 reply in the next two minutes of play, but timely shooting from the Eagles would prevent Aurora from overtaking their slim advantage. A pair of jumpers at 4:32 and 3:43 would give Edgewood College critical cushion as they positioned themselves ahead 58-52. The stubborn Spartans would cut the lead down to two with four unanswered of their own, but a three by Ellingson at 2:05 and a pair of free throws from Jake Schroeckenthaler at 1:17 would give them a seven-point advantage with little time left. The Eagles would lead by as many as 12 points in the final seconds of play as they took home a much-needed victory.

- Both squads shot 41.4 (24-of-58) percent from the field, with Edgewood College shooting 48.28 (14-of-29) percent in the second frame. The Eagles performed better in the paint as well as Aurora outscored them only 18 to 14 in the final 20.

- Four from Edgewood College scored in double-digits. Houtakker led the charge with 14 points, with Ellingson not far behind with 13 points. Caden Nelson earned 12 points, six assists, and five rebounds while Trey Traeder rounded out the group with 11 points. Schroeckenthaler grabbed 13 rebounds, while Ellngson shot 3-of-8 from beyond the arc.

- Nolan Boffman had 18 points for a game-high in the Spartans loss. Justin Wilson tallied 12 points. Julian Gatewood snagged seven boards with his 11 points.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- The Eagles evened the season series at one game apiece after a 72-71 loss earlier this year at the Todd Wehr Edgedome.

- The victory snapped an eight-game losing streak versus Aurora. The Spartans lead the series since 2006-07 21-7.

UP NEXT
The Eagles return home one last time to the Todd Wehr Edgedome this Saturday. They play host to the St. Norbert Green Knights for a Senior Day tip-off scheduled for 2:00 p.m. Edgewood College lost 74-64 on the road earlier this year and the Green Knights lead the  series 10-7 since 1988-89.