MILWAUKEE – The MSOE men's basketball team closed regulation on a 14-2 run to erase a nine-point deficit and defeat Aurora for the second time this season, 77-74, Saturday evening at the Kern Center.

The Raiders (11-6, 10-3 NACC) completed the season sweep of the Spartans (10-8, 9-4 NACC) in a showdown of two of the three teams in first place in the NACC standings.

Sophomore Matthew Kirmse scored a game-high 23 points and added nine rebounds. Junior Jason Palesse had 12 points and five assists while senior Tegan Miles finished with 11 points and six boards.

Four players scored in double-figures for Aurora, led by Max Vickers' 20 points. Ty Carlson scored 17 points, Justin Wierzgac had 13, and Marcus Myers finished with 10.

MSOE led 61-60 when the visitors went on a 12-2 run to take the lead and open its largest lead of the game at 72-63 with just 3:52 remaining in regulation.

The comeback started with a technical foul, putting Kirmse at the free throw line for two shots, both of which he made. Palesse buried a three-pointer the next possession and Kirmse followed with a triple of his own to pull within one with just under two minutes to go.

Sophomore Jake Gebert grabbed a defensive rebound on AU's next possession, setting up a Miles layup to take the lead with 57 seconds remaining.

The Spartans missed back-to-back shots, leading to a free throw from senior Nolan Henton and two by Gebert, which expanded the lead to 76-72 at the 19-second mark and put the game out of reach.

Aurora would settle for a layup before surrendering another free throw to get the ball down by three with six seconds to go. What ensued was an off-balance three-point try that was well off the mark.

MSOE shot 47.1 percent for the game, hitting on 10-of-23 three-point tries for a 43.5 percent clip. The team also got to the free throw line 27 times, converting 19. The Spartans shot 46.3 percent in the game, including a 9-for-25 three-point clip, and were 15-of-22 at the charity stripe.

The Raiders are remain tied with Benedictine for first in the NACC standings and return to the court Tuesday, hosting Marian.