In tonight’s championship game the Thunder jumped out to a 24-12 lead with 11:07 left in the first half. With 5:30 remaining in the first half and Wheaton leading 31-21, the Spartans began a 17-6 run to close the half as Aurora led 38-37 at halftime. The two teams battled back and forth a second half that saw five ties and 10 lead changes and no lead was greater than five points. With 16-seconds remaining in the game Aurora’s Courtney Carson made two free throws to give the Spartans a 73-70 lead. Wheaton’s Michael Fiddler made a lay-up to cut the Aurora lead to 73-72 with eight seconds left and with six seconds remaining Aurora was fouled. The first free throw attempt of the Spartans’ one-and-one rolled out-of-bounds and possession went to the Thunder, but Wheaton only had 2-1/2 seconds to get a shot off. The Thunder was unable to get a shot off in time and the Spartans escaped with the victory.
Senior guard Tony Bollier scored 30 points, with five rebounds and three assists to earn All-Tournament honors. Junior Johnnie Standard scored 14 points, with seven rebounds and three assists to also earn All-Tournament recognition. Senior Jordan Kemper scored nine points and sophomore John Mohan added six points, seven rebounds and three assists. Wheaton shot 50% (26-52) from the field, with 57.1% (8-14) from three-point range and 92.3% (8-14) from the free throw line. Wheaton out-rebounded the Spartans 32-30, but Aurora held a 10-7 edge on the offensive glass.
Dusty Magee and Jeremy Cartwright each scored 15 points to lead Aurora. All-American Larry Welton scored 12 points and grabbed a game-high eight rebounds. Magee earned All-Tournament honors and Welton was named the tournament’s MVP. Aurora shot 45.9% (28-61) from the field, 25.9% (7-27) from three-point range and 71.4% (10-14) from the free throw line.
McMurry (Texas) defeated Concordia (Wis.) 115-99 in the consolation game. Tee Jay Void led six McMurry players that scored in double digits with 17 points. Romel Colina added 14 points, with five rebounds and three steals as he earned All-Tournament honors. Dave Lipanot led Concordia with 28 points.
LEE PFUND CLASSIC ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Tony Bollier - Wheaton College
Rommel Colina – McMurry University (Texas)
Dusty Magee – Aurora University
Johnnie Standard – Wheaton College
WILL LANDRY MEMORIAL MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
Larry Welton – Aurora University
Aurora University vs Wheaton College 11/19/05 8:00 PM at Wheaton College's Lee Pfund Classic At Wheaton College's Lee Pfund Classic AURORA UNIVERSITY 73, WHEATON COLLEGE 72 AURORA UNIVERSITY (2-0) CARTWRIGHT, Jeremy 6-10 3-5 15; MAGEE, Dusty 6-10 0-0 15; WELTON, Larry 5-12 2-3 12; CARSON, Tony 3-9 3-3 10; CARSON, Courtney 3-8 2-2 9; TRUDO, Chad 3-5 0-1 7; ENGELHARDT, Luke 1-4 0-0 3; GULLICKSON, Erik 1-1 0-0 2; MENDEZ, Vic 0-1 0-0 0; URIBE, David 0-0 0-0 0; LAMBERT, Doug 0-1 0-0 0; RAUCH, Jeremy 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-61 10-14 73. WHEATON COLLEGE (1-1) Bollier, Tony 10-20 7-7 30; Standard, Johnnie 6-12 0-0 14; Kemper, Jordan 2-4 4-4 9; Denham, Phill 3-5 1-2 7; Fiddler, Michael 3-4 0-0 6; Mohan, John 2-6 0-0 6; Noell, Dave 0-0 0-0 0; Wiele, Andy 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-52 12-13 72. Aurora University............. 38 35 - 73 Wheaton College............... 37 35 - 72 3-point goals-Aurora University 7-27 (MAGEE, Dusty 3-6; CARSON, Tony 1-6; ENGELHARDT, Luke 1-4; TRUDO, Chad 1-3; CARSON, Courtney 1-3; LAMBERT, Doug 0-1; WELTON, Larry 0-4), Wheaton College 8-14 (Bollier, Tony 3-6; Standard, Johnnie 2-3; Mohan, John 2-4; Kemper, Jordan 1-1). Fouled out--Aurora University-None, Wheaton College-Denham, Phill. Rebounds-Aurora University 30 (WELTON, Larry 8), Wheaton College 32 (Mohan, John 7; Standard, Johnnie 7). Assists-Aurora University 12 (TRUDO, Chad 5), Wheaton College 13 (Bollier, Tony 3; Standard, Johnnie 3; Mohan, John 3). Total fouls-Aurora University 16, Wheaton College 14.