WHEATON, Ill. - The University of Dubuque men's basketball team defeated the Rockford University Regents 76-69 on Saturday night in the championship game of the Wheaton College Lee Pfund Classic. Jaylin McCants was named the Will Landry Memorial Most Valuable Player, while Grady Thompson was named to the Lee Pfund Classic All-Tournament Team. 

Both teams got off to a slow start in the Lee Pfund Classic Championship Game on Saturday night as the score was 12-7 in favor of the Spartans, with 10:40 left in the first half. With the Spartans leading by seven at 19-12, Rockford responded with a 9-0 run to take a two point lead at the 6:30 mark. The Spartans got hot late in the half, sparking a 19-8 run to lead by 11 at the break.

Rockford cut the Spartans lead to just two halfway through the second half, but an ensuing 8-0 run by the Spartans brought the lead back to double digits with just over seven minutes remaining. The Spartans got their biggest lead of the night at 69-55 with just under three minutes left, but after a few missed free throws down the stretch made the game interesting as Rockford got to within four with 57 seconds left, but the Spartans hit three free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.

Hear from Robbie Sieverding
"It wasn't pretty at times tonight but Rockford just kept battling and made us earn everything. We still have alot of  room for improvement but a handful of guys stepped up this weekend. Jaylin and Grady both played well tonight and Nick gave us a lift as well. It was great to see Jaylin get recognized as tournament MVP and Grady for the making the all tournament team."

Jaylin McCants finished the game with a team-high 22 points and seven rebounds, while Grady Thompson added on to his great tournament performance with 18 points on 6-10 shooting with a 3-4 effort from beyond the arc. Jalen Scott led the team with six assists. 

The Spartans shot 25-58 (43.1%) from the field and finally got going from the outside shooting 10-19 from three-point range. The Spartans won the turnover battle and had nine more points off turnovers. 

The Spartans are now 4-2 on the season.

Up Next
The Spartans will play a non-conference game at Monmouth College on Tuesday, November 26 at 7:30 p.m. before enjoying the time off for Thanksgiving.