LISLE, Ill. – The Benedictine University men's basketball team improved their record to 12-5 as they won their fifth straight, steamrolling past rival Aurora University with an 89-74 victory on Thursday night in front of a packed crowd at the Thornton Gymnasium. 

 

Cameron Snelling earned his ninth double-double of the season as he posted 15 points and snagged a season high 21 rebounds. Nate Green led all scorers with a season high 29 points as he shot 67 percent from the field (10-for-15) and buried three triples in the first half. 

 

 

The Eagles (12-5, 7-2) struggled slightly at the beginning of the game as they traded leads throughout the first seven minutes of play. Finally, at around the 13-minute mark, a three-point play by Green gave Benedictine the lead and they never looked back. Dario Jokic sparked an 18-6 run for the Eagles at the end of the half to take a 44-26 lead. 

 

 

In the second half Benedictine stayed strong and built continuously on their lead, which reached as high as a 24-point difference with less then ten minutes to play. 

 

 

Terry Licht posted his fifth straight double-figure game as he posted 20 points on 8-for-11 shooting and also grabbed six boards. AJ Brown added eight points while Jerrell Tribble put up six and dished out a team-high 4 assists and finished with a pair of steals. 

 

 

Scott Laskowski led Aurora with 16 points and nine rebounds and former Eagle Mike Bumber was next highest with 12 points.

 

The Eagles shot 54.2 percent (32-for-59) on the game to the Spartan's 41.3 percent (31-for-75) and also won the rebounding battle 46-33.

 

The Benedictine men lead the South Division with a 7-2 conference record. The Eagles are back in action on Saturday, Jan. 22 when they travel to Maranatha for a 4:15 tip-off against the Crusaders.