sMADISON – The Edgewood College Eagles men's basketball squad returned to the Todd Wehr Edgedome on a snowy Wednesday evening. They battled with a Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) foe in the Aurora Spartans. The Spartans (7-7, 4-3 NACC) used a strong second half to put away the Eagles (6-9, 5-4) in 79-67 fashion.

HOW IT HAPPENED
- After the two teams found themselves in a dead heat, tied 17-17 with 11:00 remaining in the first half, Aurora built up a 23-17 edge with a 7-0 run in 1:15 of game time. Edgewood College would get close on a few occasions in the last half of the first period, but Aurora's lead proved stubborn as they went into the locker room up 40-37.

- The Eagles would battle back to multiple ties in the first five minutes of the second half, but the Spartans began to attack the paint in earnest to spark a 9-2 rally to pull ahead 58-51. Aurora would control the remaining minutes as they continued to hammer the paint and boards, leading by as much as 17 points at multiple points before the final buzzer sounded.
 
- The Spartans held a decisive 44-24 edge in points in the paint, as well as a 36-28 advantage in rebounds.
 
- Five Aurora shooters finished in double-digits. Wayne Jervier Jr. impressed with 19 points and three steals with 9-of-13 shooting from the field.
 
- Drew Houtakker led the way with 19 points and eight rebounds for Edgewood College. Trey Traeder tallied 17 points while Cade Ellingson finished with 10 points.
 
- The Spartans outshot the Eagles 53.85 (14-of-26) percent to 38.71 (12-of-31) percent from the field.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- The Spartans have won two of the last three in the series and owns a 22-7 record all-time against Edgewood College.
 
UP NEXT
The Eagles will look to rebound as they host MSOE at the Edgedome Saturday afternoon. First tip is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. Edgewood College holds a 54-27 lead in the all-time series against the Raiders, with the two splitting the season series last year.