Brandon Smith hit a three-pointer with 1:53 left in the game to give Aurora (Ill.) University the lead for good and a spirited effort by the Lakeland College men's basketball team came up just short in a 79-76 loss Saturday afternoon at the Woltzen Gymnasium.

The Muskies played very well, especially in the second half, but the Spartans were just a hair better, answering every challenge in remaining in first at 11-2 in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (13-4 overall). Lakeland dropped to 11-6 overall and 7-5 in the NACC.

Looking to avoid their third straight loss, the Muskies played hard, out-rebounding an opponent for the first time since November. Lakeland won the battle on the glass 49-42 and battled back throughout despite trailing from the game's early stages.

The Muskies fell behind by 12 early in the second half but stayed in hot pursuit, chipping away to within three points, then two, then one, and finally tying the game on two occasions. Tanner Hackl (Jr.-West De Pere, Wis.) hit a short jumper to tie the score at 72-72 with 3:05 to play, and Zach Van Engen (Jr.-Sheboygan Falls, Wis.) hit a pair of free throws to tie it again at 74-all with 2:06 left.

Every single time Lakeland closed in, though, Aurora responded. The Spartans hit one big shot after another, often heavily challenged attempts at the end of the shot clock.

After Smith's three-pointer, Joey Burris (Sr.-Kiel, Wis.) split free throws on two trips to the line to get the Muskies back within a point at 77-76 with 50 seconds to play. Aurora ran the clock down and Smith missed another three-pointer, but Kyle Pilmer tipped in his miss for another three-point lead.

Burris followed by missing a pair of two-point shots as the clock ran down, but the Spartans tipped it out of bounds with 2.8 seconds left, giving Lakeland one final shot. Off the inbounds play, Burris caught the ball on the right wing and attempted a heavily contested 23-footer that went off the rim.

Burris finished with 22 points, Derick Denny (Sr.-Oneida, Wis.) scored 20 with four three-pointers, and Hackl added season bests of 14 points and six rebounds off the bench. The Muskies shot 38.0% for the game (27 of 71) but converted 15 of 33 in the second half (45.5%).

Pilmer scored 27 points and added 11 rebounds for Aurora. Tyler Hall also added 15 points and a game-high eight assists.

The Muskies now take to the road on Wednesday when they travel to face Milwaukee School of Engineering at 7 p.m.