DE PERE / MILWAUKEE, Wis. (naccsports.org) --- Third-seeded Aurora University and fifth-seeded Marian University scored upset victories Thursday in the semifinal round of the 2026 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) Men's Basketball Tournament.

Marian toppled top-seeded Milwaukee School of Engineering, 85-74, in Milwaukee, while Aurora upset No. 2-seeded St. Norbert College by a 65-59 score in De Pere.

The Spartans will host the Sabres at 5 p.m. Saturday for the tournament tilte and the NACC's automatic berth in the 2026 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship.

Aurora will be looking for its seventh tournament crown and first since 2019, while Marian is seeking its third tournament title (2014, 2022). The Sabres have history in the NACC men's tournament as an underdog, winning the 2022 title as a No. 5 seed.

No. 5 Marian 85, No. 1 MSOE 74
MSOE (19-8) jumped out to a 44-36 halftime lead after shooting 59.4 percent (19-of-32) from the field in the first half and extended the lead to 12 points just three minutes into the second half, but Marian responded with a 17-2 run to grabe a 53-50 lead on a Derek Lindert 3-pointer with 12:26 to play. The teams traded the lead back and forth over the next six minutes, but the Sabres closed the game on a 21-10 run to advance to the championship game.

MSOE's Mason Dopirak - announced earlier Thursday as the NACC Player of the Year - led all players with 31 points, including 18 in the first half. He also pulled down eight rebounds. Carson Cordelli was the only other Raider in double figures, finishing with 10 points and five rebounds.

Four Sabres finished in double figures, led by Andrew Ayeni's 25 points and 10 rebounds. Lindert added 21 points, while Alex Vassilakis had 15 and Marvin Haslett had 12.

The difference in the contest came at the free-throw line. Marian finished 23-of-29 at the charity stripe. By contrast, MSOE had just five attempts, making four.

No. 3 Aurora 65, No. 2 St. Norbert 59
St. Norbert jumped out to a 33-27 halftime lead behind a balanced offense that saw nine different Green Knights score. SNC also held a 7-3 advantage on the offensive boards that allowed the hosts to put up seven more shots (31 to Aurora's 24) in the opening half. 

The Green Knights extended their lead to 10 points (47-37) coming out of the under-12:00 media timeout on a layup by Charlie Geske, but could not hold off a late charge by the Spartans, who outscored St. Norbert, 28-12, down the stretch. The Green Knights held the lead with under three minutes to play. However, Cullen Rauls tied the game on a lineup with 2:36 to play. Fouled on the play, Rauls sank the ensuing free throw to put Aurora ahead. The Spartans scored six of the game's final seven points.

Rauls finished with a game-high 17 points to lead Aurora (22-5), followed by 11 from Mekhi Doby and 10 from Jeffery Hillmer. NACC Defensive Player of the Year Devon Richardson just missed a double-double with nine points and game-high 16 boards as the Spartans finished with a 43-36 rebounding advantage.

Ryan Cox led St. Norbert (20-7) with 12 points, while Conner Pytleski added 10. Geske chipped in with nine points off the bench.