LISLE, Ill. - The first road game of the season for the University of Dubuque men's basketball team took place Tuesday night at Benedictine University where the Spartans used another big second half to defeat the Eagles 77-65.
The first half got off to a slow start for both teams as the Spartans held a 6-3 lead before the Eagles used a 12-0 run to take the lead 6-15. The run was a result of four quick turnovers by the Spartans that resulted in easy points for the Eagles. The Eagles would build their biggest lead of the game at 11 with 9:52 remaining as the Spartans would then start chipping their deficit away in the last 10 minutes of the first half.
Taydem Arguello would spark a 16-5 Spartans run by hitting a three pointer to cut the Eagles lead to 19-26. The Spartans would grab their first lead of the game off a
Jaylin McCants free throw with 1:38 left in the half. The Eagles regained the lead briefly before
Sunday John finished off the half with a dunk to give the Spartans a one point lead into the half at 32-31.
The second half would look all too familiar to the Spartans as three nights ago in the season opener they dominated the second half to beat Blackburn and a similar outcome occurred against the Eagles as they were able to lockdown on the defensive end as well as knock down free throws late. The Spartans found themselves trailing 54-59 with only 6:53 left in the game. From that moment, the Eagles would only score six more points as the Spartans finished the game on a 21-6 run and the finishing touch was a
Dylan Anderson three pointer with 1:07 left. The Spartans hit late free throws to seal the victory.
"Good to go on the road against a good team and find a way to win. Game was much closer than the score indicated and we need to figure out a way to get going in the first half. I thought our guys showed great composure down the stretch.
Grady Thompson hit a couple big shots and Jaylin made some plays down the stretch as well. Looking forward to getting back home this weekend for a couple games" stated head coach
Robbie Sieverding after tonight's win on the road.
The Spartans finished the night with five in double figures led by McCants and
Grady Thompson with 12 points each.
Sam Kilburg and John each added 11 with Anderson finishing with a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
The Spartans got to the free throw line alot in the game hitting 28-37 from the charity stripe. The Spartans hitting 28 free throws paid big dividends towards tonight's win. The Spartans did struggle again from beyond the arc, but were able to shoot 48.9% from the field.
The Spartans now move to 2-0 on the season.
Up Next
The Spartans will face Monmouth College on Friday night (Nov.17) at 7:00 p.m. and then Aurora University on Saturday afternoon (Nov. 18) at 4:00 p.m. to finish out the week inside Stoltz Sports Center.
