AURORA, IL – Junior guard
Ian Winkler scored 24 points led the Millikin men's basketball team to a 96-74 victory over the Aurora University Spartans at Thornton Gymnasium. The win was the Big Blue's third straight victory over the Spartans dating back to 2023.
Forwards
Lane Thomann and
Ryheem Tyus joined Winkler with double digit performance scoring 17 and 12 respectively. Tyus also tallied 11 rebounds in the contest; marking his second double-double in as many games. Thomann was 6-6 from the free-throw line. Junior guards
Caden Nichols and
Jacob Stellwagen each contributed nine points.
Guards Cullen Rauls and Zerrick Johnson led Aurora with 23 points each. Junior guard Emmanuel Willoughby also notched ten points.
Millikin shot 51.6% from the floor and 42.8% from beyond the arc. The Big Blue performed well at the free-throw line, going 16-22. 35 of Millikin's 96 points came from the bench.
"Today was a great team win! It's always a challenge to play back-to-back day and I was pleased with how our guys kept their energy and focus," said Head Coach Tom Noonan. "We played long stretches without a few guys due to foul trouble; however, our bench depth allowed us to keep and eventually build the lead. It's always helps when the ball goes in, but I was most pleased with our rebounding effort on both ends of the floor in the second half."
The Big Blue return to action for an exhibition contest against the University of Illinois-Springfield at the TRAC (The Recreation and Athletic Center) on Monday, Nov. 9 at 7:30 p.m.
