AURORA, Ill. – Nick Kladis scored a game-high 38 points as Aurora shot nearly 58 percent from the floor and the Spartans defeated the Wisconsin Lutheran College men's basketball team 102-75 on Saturday afternoon at Thornton Gymnasium.

THE BASICS

• Final Score: Aurora 102, Wisconsin Lutheran 75
• Records: Wisconsin Lutheran (6-9, 5-6 NACC), Aurora (13-3, 9-2 NACC)
• Location: Thornton Gymnasium, Aurora, Ill. | Attendance: 417

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Warriors jumped out to a 4-0 lead after a Jim Marose (Waukesha, Wis./Wisconsin Lutheran) layup for the largest lead of the afternoon for WLC.
• Aurora then rattled off a 20-5 run to lead 20-9 with 10:53 remaining in the first half.
• WLC answered with a 17-7 spurt to take a 28-27 lead, unfortunately it would be the last lead for the visitors on the afternoon.
• Wisconsin Lutheran kept the game close and went into halftime trailing 48-41.
• AU shot 53.3 percent (16-for-30) from the field in the opening half, compared to WLC's 47.2 percent (17-for-36).
• Collin Kennedy (Holmen, Wis./Luther) led the Warriors at the break with 13 points, while Jake Jarnigo (Lake Mills, Wis./Lakeside Lutheran) added nine.
• Both teams started hot from behind the arc, beginning the second half with five straight made threes between the two squads.
• Kennedy scored five straight points to bring the Warriors' deficit down to eight points with 17:10 remaining, but Wisconsin Lutheran wouldn't get any closer the rest of the way.
• Aurora had its largest lead in the game of 32 points with 3:07 remaining in the contest.
• The Spartans shot a sizzling 63.6 percent in the second half, while WLC was a chilly 29.0 percent.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Kennedy paced three Warriors in double-figures with 22 points in the contest, his fourth-straight game scoring at least 22 points. Jarnigo added 14 points and eight assists.
• Marose chipped in 11 points and grabbed nine rebounds, while Alex Foster (Kenosha, Wis./St. Joseph) contributed a career-high seven points off the bench.
• The Warriors' bench out-scored AU 21-14.
• WLC ended the contest shooting 39.4 percent (26-for-66) and 22.2 percent (6-for-27) from beyond the arc, but Aurora shot 57.8 percent (37-for-64) from the field, including 56.7 percent (17-for-30) from long distance.
• The Spartans used a balanced attack with all five starters scoring in double-figures. Kladis led all scorers with 38, going 10-for-11 from three. Taylor Hall contributed 17 points.

UP NEXT

• Wisconsin Lutheran returns to action on Wednesday when it travels to Edgewood (1-14, 1-9 NACC) for a 7 p.m. tip-off. The Eagles were defeated by Marian 74-58 on Wednesday. WLC won the first matchup in Milwaukee on January 6, 74-49. Live stats and video will be available for the contest at wlcsports.com.