AU Men Receive National Recognition

AURORA, Ill. February 24, 2005 - With a 21-4 overall record, a second consecutive Northern Illinois-Iowa Conference regular season championship, and a ranking in the D3hoops.com Top 25 for the first time in school history under their belts, the Aurora University men’s basketball team continued to garner national recognition for their individual and team efforts.

Senior guard Adam McCoy (Decatur, Ill./St. Teresa HS) was named a finalist for the 2004-2005 Jostens Award, Division III basketball’s top honor. McCoy is one of 10 finalists for the award that will be presented on Thursday, March 17, 2005 in Salem, Virginia. The award honors the most outstanding men and women’s Division III basketball players of the year. The award takes into account basketball ability, academic prowess and community service. The trophy models the Rotary motto of “Service above Self” by recognizing whose who truly fit the ideal of the well-rounded Division III student athlete.

For the second time this season, freshman forward Larry Welton (Chicago, Ill./Thornwood HS) was named to the D3hoops.com Team of the Week. Welton guided AU to a 3-0 week with the big win coming over NIIC rival and at the time #25 Benedictine University 95-85. Welton averaged 27.3 points on the week, while shooting 60 percent from the field and pulling down 8.3 rebounds per game. Welton was also named NIIC Player of the Week for his performance, his fourth time receiving the conference award.

As a team, the Spartans moved up to #21 in the latest D3hoops.com Top 25 poll. Just one week after making their first appearance in the poll, AU is on a current seven game win streak and has won 16 of the last 17 contests. In addition, AU moved up to #2 in the fourth and final NCAA Division III regional poll. The regional ranking is used by the NCAA selection committee in their decision process for the national tournament, which will be announced on Sunday, February 27, 2005, following the conclusion of all conference tournaments around the nation.

The next action for the Spartan men’s basketball team comes on Thursday, February 24, 2005, when they host the Regents of Rockford College in the semi-final round of the NIIC tournament. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m. in Thornton Gymnasium, where the Spartans are 11-0 this season and 52-4 since the 2000-2001 season.

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