AURORA, Ill. (naccsports.org) --- Mekhi Doby drained two free throws with 17 seconds to play to push Aurora University to a 67-66 victory over Marian University Saturday in the championship game of the 2026 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) Men's Basketball Tournament at Thornton Gymnasium.
The tournament title is the seventh for the Spartans (23-5) and the first since 2019. With the victory, Aurora receives the NACC's automatic berth in the 2026 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship. It will be the 12th trip to the NCAA tournament in program history.
The Spartans will learn their regional destination and first-round opponent during the 2026 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship selection show, which will air at noon on NCAA.com.
No. 3 Aurora 67, No. 5 Marian 66
Marian (17-11) took an early advantage, leading 12-5 just over four minutes into the contest. Aurora was able to erase the deficit behind seven straight points from Juan Madrigal, then grabbed a 15-12 lead on a 3-pointer from Cullen Rauls at the 12:39 mark.
The Sabres momentarily retook the lead on a Derek Lindert 3-pointer with 4:01 to play, only to be countered by a 3-pointer from Rauls on the ensuing Aurora possession.
The Rauls triple kicked off a 15-5 run to end the half, giving the Spartans a 40-31 lead at the break.
Marian took advantage of a slow start from the Spartans in the second half, outscoring the hosts 16-6 over the first eight minutes to take a 47-46 lead into the under-12 media timeout. Aurora was able to stunt the Sabres' push momentarily, but a further 11-2 run pushed the Marian advantage to six points with 6:31 to play.
The Spartans chipped away at the lead over the next six minutes, moving back in front on a pair of Mekhi Doby free throws with 17 seconds to play.
Marian had a couple of chances in the waning seconds, but Marvin Haslett had is layup blocked by NACC Defensive Player of the Year Devon Richardson and a 3-point chance from Alex Vassilakis missed the mark.
Rauls, who was named the 2026 NACC Men's Basketball All-Tournament Team Most Valuable Player, led Aurora with 22 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field and perfect 8-of-8 effort at the free-throw line, while Jeffery Hillmer and Juan Madrigal chipped in 15 points apiece. Hillmer also pulled down seven rebounds. Richardson added six points, a game-high 17 rebounds, and six massive blocks.
Vassilakis led four Sabres in double figures with 22 points and 12 rebounds. Andrew Ayeni added 17 points, while Haslett had 12 and Lindert had 10.
2026 NACC Men's Basketball All-Tournament Team
Cullen Rauls, Aurora (MVP)
Juan Madrigal, Aurora
Devon Richardson, Aurora
Derek Lindert, Marian
Andrew Ayeni, Marian
Mason Dopirak, MSOE
Connor Pytleski, St. Norbert