DUBUQUE, Iowa -  (12/7/22) The University of Dubuque men's basketball team stepped out of conference play as they hosted Augustana College Vikings on Wednesday evening. Entering halftime, the Spartans found themselves down by nine (33-24) in a highly contested battle. A strong defensive effort from the Spartans erased a 13-point deficit for a 65-59 comeback victory. 

The Spartans shooting started off slow as they shot 7-23 (30%) from the field in the first half while the Vikings shot 11-27 (40%) giving them the nine point advantage. Early in the second half, Augustana extended their largest lead of the game by 13 with a score of 39-26. From that point on, the Spartans slowly started to chip away at the lead. A steal from Keegan Zimmerman resulted in a Jaylin McCants fast break layup which sparked an 8-0 run for the Spartans. During that run, Hunter Snyder forced two key steals which also ended in fast break points to narrow the margin by a score of 46-43. With five minutes left, McCants gave the Spartans their first lead of the game with a layup, followed by two huge back-to-back three pointers from Snyder extending the Spartans lead by five (55-50) with three minutes left in the game. The Spartans knocked down six free throws in the final minutes to walk away with the victory.

Snyder and McCants established their presence in the second half as they proved to be too much for Augustana. Leading the way for the Spartans was Snyder with 20 points, connecting on 3-6 from beyond the arc and grabbed a team high seven rebounds. McCants finished the night with 18 points, scoring 14 in the second half and hauled in six rebounds. Zimmerman was the third player in double figures collecting 12 points. 

The Spartans shot 42% from the field while holding the Vikings to 38%. The defense from the Spartans forced 17 Augustana turnovers which resulted in 21 points. The Spartans got to the free throw line 21 times going 17-21 (81%) from the charity strike.

Up Next
The Spartans will jump back into conference play as they welcome in the Prairiewolves of Nebraska Wesleyan on Saturday, December 10. The game is scheduled to tip-off at 4:00p.m. on Jon Davison Court inside the Stoltz Sports Center.