Aurora University clamps down on defense

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Updated: January 31, 2012 11:04PM

This has been a perplexing season.

One game they look like world-beaters and the next they resemble something the cat spit out.

When Aurora University is good, as it was Tuesday night in a 57-37 rout of the Milwaukee School of Engineering, it is very good.

Yet there are the stumbles, like a hard-to-figure 84-81 loss to lowly Wisconsin Lutheran (4-15) last Saturday.

“We had a shot to win it with just a couple seconds to go and had a tough call go against us,” AU head coach James Lancaster said. “Our guys were angry and we tried to focus on the defensive end tonight.”

That defensive effort chewed up MSOE (8-12, 6-6 Northern Athletics Conference). The Raiders didn’t reach double figures until there was two minutes left in the first half, finishing the first 20 minutes hitting a ridiculous 4-of-24 (16.7 percent) from the field.

“Coach (Mark) Lindo has been with us three years now and he said, ‘Hey, that team didn’t have any room to breathe out there,’” Lancaster said.

The defensive clamps led to a convincing 22-3 run by the Spartans (10-10, 6-6) that pushed them to a 27-6 lead, and the Raiders were left with questions that had no answers.

Junior forward Ryan Crow keyed the blitz by knocking down a pair of three-point shots. He finished with 14 points, five rebounds, two steals and two blocks.

Crow has become a go-to option after spending the first part of the season battling offensive inconsistencies.

“I think it’s all confidence, to be honest,” Crow said. “Once you’re hot (then) you’re looking for the ball more. Early in the year I was missing a lot and I put my head down.”

The Spartans ultimately sped to a 21-point (33-12) halftime lead, making the second half pretty much mop-up time for both teams.

It was an impressive performance by an AU team that needs more of the same.

“We play off our energy (and) we have to come out like that every day,” Crow said.

Even though Crow struggled offensively through much of the year, he was always steady on defense. He became Lancaster’s stopper, always drawing the assignment of facing the best inside player the other team trotted on the floor.

That really wasn’t Crow’s strength when he played at Plainfield Central.

“I think I was looked at as one of the worst,” Crow said. “I was kind of a smaller guy and I’ve kind of bulked up a little bit.”

Scott Laskowski was the only other player in double figures with 14 points as Lancaster used 16 players and substituted early and often.