Men's Basketball drops close road NACC matchup against Aurora

Aurora, Ill.- In a fierce road NACC matchup for the Concordia Wisconsin Falcons that came down to the last three minutes of the game, where the Aurora Spartans were able to match the Falcons basket for basket to seal the victory 85-80.

THE BASICS
Final Score: Aurora Spartans 85, Concordia Wisconsin 80
Location: Thornton Gymnasium (Aurora, Ill.)
Records: Aurora Spartans 11-8, 10-4 NACC; Concordia Wisconsin 10-9, 8-6 NACC

HOW IT HAPPENED
-Concordia Wisconsin came sprinting down the court after a big rejection from junior Andrew Fratzke (Winona, Minn.) that turned into two points by a nice scoop on the left side of the basket by freshman Jordan Johnson (Cedarburg, Wis.), making the score 83-80 with the Spartans holding on to the lead with 47 seconds left in the final half of play. Aurora went on to sink two free throws with 17 seconds and held off the Falcons defensively, by forcing a quick deep three that fell short by bouncing off the front of the rim, resulting in an 85-80 victory.  
- In a game that was back and forth for the entire 40 minutes of play, it came down to an exciting final three minutes of regulation. Fratzke was able to put in a big bucket with a nice move in the post to drop in a score over the defender to once again get CUW within three points. The score was 81-78 with the host out in front after a Falcons foul that put Ty Carlson at the line who dropped in two clutch free throws to push the lead to 83-78.
- Concordia Wisconsin got within three points when senior Josh Hau (Slinger, Wis.) swooped towards the basket and finished with a sweet lay in, while also drawing a foul and sinking the free throw to bring the score to 79-76 in favor of Aurora. On the following possession Max Vickers made a big layup to push the lead back to five with 1:41 left to go and the excitement building inside the Thornton Gymnasium.
- In a highly anticipated matchup as Concordia Wisconsin came in on a four-game winning streak and was looking to strike again against the Spartans. The Falcons were playing strong with a big first half as they pushed out in front of Aurora with 1:25 left in the half as the scoreboard read 42-40 in favor of the visitor. Sophomore Olalekan George (Milwaukee, Wis.) sunk two free throws and Johnson added two points on to the lead at the end of the half making it 46-40 in favor of Concordia Wisconsin. Johnson lead the Falcons with 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting and Fratzke chipped in 12 points, nine rebounds and three blocks. CUW's Hau finished the night with 19 points and four helpers to go along with three steals. George chipped in 11 points off the bench.

THE OPPOSITION
- The Spartans relied on Marcus Myers who displayed a dynamic scoring set all night by netting 21 points and recording nine rebounds. Max Vickers also dropped in 18 points and ripped down nine rebounds for Aurora. Matt Dunn chipped in 15 points and five assists. Pat Kramp was a huge spark off the bench with 16 points going 4-of-7 from downtown.

NEXT ON THE SCHEDULE
- Concordia Wisconsin will take the floor next during the annual CIT tournament against Concordia Chicago at 8:00 pm this Friday.