Lakeland and Aurora meet again in an ancient series that dates all the way back to 1934-35, the Muskies' second year of basketball when the school was known as Mission House College. The schools have already met once this season, with the Spartans rallying from a big deficit for a 97-92 win in overtime at home Dec. 10. Lakeland won the last meeting at the Moose & Dona Woltzen Gymnasium, also in overtime, edging Aurora 94-92 Dec. 11, 2021. The teams went 42 years without playing each other before the series resumed when both became part of the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference in 2006. Aurora holds an 18-11 edge in games since both joined the NACC in 2006-07, and 12 of the last 15 meetings between the schools have been decided by seven points or less.

Lakeland last time out: Lost at Concordia Wisconsin 90-66 Tuesday
It was a long night for the Muskies, who had one of their worst shooting nights of the season and trailed by as much as 34 points in the second half. Lakeland hit 38.0% from the field and just 6 of 29 from three-point range, while the Falcons hit 52.7% of their shots. Concordia began to pull away midway through the first half, scoring 11 straight points to take a 39-24 lead, and CUW outscored the Muskies 50-20 over a 20-minute span in the middle of the game. Christian Knox was a bright spot for Lakeland with 18 points and Kai Buliox and Isaiah Hammond both added 11 points each.

Aurora last time out: Defeated Benedictine 57-55 Tuesday
The Spartans held off the Eagles to claw out a win at home, scoring the winning point with less than a second left in the game. Nolan Boffman was fouled with :00.4 left on the clock and made the second free throw to break a 55-55 tie. Aurora then added one more free throw after a Benedictine turnover to finish the win in a game where the Spartans never trailed in the second half and led by as much as 12 before the Eagles tied it with just over a minute left. Boffman and Joevonn McCottry both scored 13 points each to lead Aurora, which shot 38.2% but won by six points or less or in overtime for the seventh time this season.

Recapping the first meeting: The Muskies appeared at halftime to be well on their way to victory, holding a 55-31 lead at the break, but the Spartans roared back to send the game to overtime, including scoring the final 10 points of regulation while holding Lakeland without a point for the final 4:26 of the second half. Aurora never trailed in overtime, but the teams were tied twice, the last time at 88-88 before Boffman scored eight of the Spartans' final nine points. Lakeland shot 60% and made 11 three-pointers in the first half, but Aurora was even better in the second half, making 61.8% of its shots to force OT, including 20 points off Muskies turnovers.

Concordia Chicago postponement update: Lakeland's postponed game against Concordia Chicago on Jan. 3 has now officially been credited as an administrative forfeit by the NACC. The games are officially scored as no-contests, meaning the Muskies get credited with a win in the conference standings but do not get a win on their overall record.