Aurora's sophomore forward Larry Welton led all scorers with 21 points, he also had six rebounds and three steals on the night. His highlight real dunk to open the second half propelled the Spartans in the second session after a somewhat lackluster first half.
Following Welton's slam, AU went on to lead by as many as 13 points with 5:30 remaining (60-47) in the contest. The Knights cut the Spartan lead to four at 69-65 with 18 seconds to play but two free throws by freshman guard Dusty Magee and one by senior guard Courtney Carson sealed the contest.
The first half saw Aurora jump out to a quick 4-0 lead before consecutive three pointers by Carleton forward Dan Forkrud knotted the game at six. The Knights would jump out to a 10 point lead midway through the first half before Magee knocked down a huge three himself to end a three minute plus scoring drought for the Spartans. The teams went to intermission with Carleton up 35-33 with AU forward Jeremy Cartwright's tip in at the horn.
Carleton shot 57.7% from the field in the first half and 41.7% from three-point range, while Aurora shot 40.5% and just 11.1% from beyond the arc. For the game, Carleton shot 44.2% to Aurora's 40.0%.
Joining Welton as the Spartans leaders were Cartwright had a double double with 15 points and 12 rebounds, Magee added 12 points, five rebounds and three steals with Courtney Carson chipping in nine points, three steals and three assists.
Carleton was led by Dan Forkrud's 17 points, nine rebounds and five assists, Tommy Drake added 17 points and five rebounds while Brian Sharkey had 13 points on five of six shooting.
AU improves to 3-1 on the season and will take on Division I Northern Illinois University on Saturday, November 26, 2005 at 4:00 p.m., while Carleton falls to 0-1 on the season.
Carleton College vs Aurora University 11/23/05 7:30 p.m. at Aurora University Thornton Gymnasium At Aurora University Thornton Gymnasium AURORA UNIVERSITY 72, CARLETON COLLEGE 65 CARLETON COLLEGE (0-1) Tommy Drake 6-12 4-4 17; Dan Forkrud 6-10 3-5 17; Brian Sharkey 5-6 0-0 13; Zach Johnson 1-3 4-6 6; Jake Phillips 2-9 0-0 5; Bobby Schmitz 2-4 0-0 5; Rodney Kuhl 1-3 0-0 2; Mike Kootsikas 0-1 0-0 0; Jay Melson 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 23-52 11-15 65. AURORA UNIVERSITY (3-1) WELTON, Larry 7-18 6-6 21; CARTWRIGHT, Jeremy 6-15 3-4 15; MAGEE, Dusty 4-9 2-2 12; CARSON, Courtney 4-9 1-2 9; CARSON, Tony 0-4 5-6 5; RAUCH, Jeremy 2-3 0-0 4; ENGELHARDT, Luke 1-2 0-2 2; BURDEN, Aaron 1-1 0-0 2; TRUDO, Chad 1-2 0-0 2; MENDEZ, Vic 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 26-65 17-22 72. Carleton College.............. 35 30 - 65 Aurora University............. 33 39 - 72 3-point goals-Carleton College 8-25 (Brian Sharkey 3-4; Dan Forkrud 2-4; Tommy Drake 1-4; Bobby Schmitz 1-3; Jake Phillips 1-6; Jay Melson 0-2; Rodney Kuhl 0-1; Zach Johnson 0-1), Aurora University 3-14 (MAGEE, Dusty 2-5; WELTON, Larry 1-4; CARSON, Courtney 0-1; CARSON, Tony 0-2; TRUDO, Chad 0-1; MENDEZ, Vic 0-1). Fouled out--Carleton College-None, Aurora University-None. Rebounds-Carleton College 31 (Dan Forkrud 9), Aurora University 42 (CARTWRIGHT, Jeremy 12). Assists-Carleton College 15 (Zach Johnson 6), Aurora University 7 (CARSON, Courtney 3). Total fouls-Carleton College 18, Aurora University 15. A-200