A win is a win for men’s basketball coach Ricardo Patton.

It doesn’t matter if it was an exhibition, who their opponent was or that the final score was 87-70. The only numbers that matter are those in the win and loss columns.

“You know what, I found out that you can never kick a win, no matter how you get it,” Patton said. “That was a good-shooting basketball team.”

Aurora focused its attack from beyond the arc. Of the Spartan’s 55 field goal attempts, 27 came from behind the three-point line. Aurora was able to convert on 13-27 three pointers. In total, 56 percent of the Spartan offense was generated by treys.

However, NIU was able to defeat the three-point barrage, while giving all 16 available players a chance on the court.

Senior Zach Pancratz was unable to play as he is redshirting this year due to surgery early in the off-season. Center Sean Kowal was also unavailable, as is he is a transfer from Colorado and must sit out this season.

Finally, forward Najul Ervin didn’t hit the court because Patton wanted him to rest a pulled muscle.

NIU had four players reach double-digit scoring. Forward Shaun Logan and guard Jarvis Nichols led the Huskies with 14 points each. Forwards Sean Smith and Michael Hart also added 11 and 10 points respectively in the win.

Hart proved to be a key offensive weapon for NIU. The 6-foot-7, 206-pounder provided dunks and a blocked shot that got the 1,469 fans at the Convocation Center on their feet.

The senior started his career playing at Carthage College, but came to NIU last season. After playing at the Campus Recreation Center for a year, Hart’s path has finally taken him to Division I basketball.

“To be out here, and just to know that you actually made the step up and the progression up to the Division I level, it’s just a great opportunity for me,” Hart said. “I’m happy to be here.”

Only playing 14 minutes in the first exhibition game, Patton hopes to give the forward more reps in the upcoming game. Patton will get his next chance today, as NIU plays its second and final exhibition game against Augustana at 7 p.m. at the Convo.

“Mike Hart is a guy, I think, because he hasn’t played organized basketball in a few years he’s got to get some game timing and figure it out,” Patton said. “We need to get him as many reps as we can.”

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