Oshkosh, Wis. - Continuing their trend of scheduling strong non-conference opponents to challenge the team early, the Illinois Tech men's basketball team traveled north to Wisconsin to take on 25th ranked(D3 Hoops) Wisconsin-Oshkosh in their season-opener. The Scarlet Hawks hung with the Titans through the first half, but Wisconsin-Oshkosh proved too much to handle in the second half, pulling away for an 88-58 victory. The Scarlet Hawks open the season 0-1, with the Titans starting 1-0.

The Scarlet Hawks actually outshot the Titans 49% to 39% in the first half, but the combination of Illinois Tech going cold from the field in the second half(23%) and the Titans catching fire in the second frame(50%) proved to be the difference.

First Half (Wisconsin-Oshkosh 42 - Illinois Tech 39)
A 6-0 run by the Scarlet Hawks early in the second half boosted them to a 15-8 lead just under five minutes into the first half. The Titans responded with a 12-2 run to take a 20-17 lead with just under 11 minutes remaining in the half. An DeAndre Vortes layup at the 5:11 mark of the half capped off a 12-8 run for the Scarlet Hawks, giving them their last lead of the game at 29-28. The Titans regained the lead on the next possession, part of a 14-10 run to close out the first half with a 42-39 lead. Garrison Carter led the way for the Scarlet Hawks with 14 first half points.

Second Half (Wisconsin-Oshkosh 46 - Illinois Tech 19)
A Caden Gigstad jumper 49 seconds into the second half pulled the Scarlet Hawks within one point at 42-41. Unfortunately for the Hawks, that would be as close as they would get. The Titans would use a 17-4 run to take over the game, building a 16-point lead at 59-43 at the 13:38 mark of the second half. Vortes and Gigstad each scored a bucket over the next three minutes to cut the Illinois Tech deficit to 12 points at 59-47. But the Titans would outscore the Hawks 29-11 the rest of the way, including a 16-0 run, to cap off the 88-58 victory. Gigstad and Desmond Price each had 6 points in the second half to pace the Hawks.

Scarlet Hawk Standouts

• Carter led the Scarlet Hawks with 14 points.
• Andrew Veon added 9 points while leading the team defensively with 6 total blocks.
• Joshua Iguade led the team in rebounds with 8, while Dario Biaggi added 6 boards.

Titans Watch

• Will Mahoney led the Titans with 25 points on 10 of 13 shooting from the field.
• Jonah Ridnfleisch paced Wisconsin-Oshkosh with 11 rebounds and 5 combined blocks, while adding 10 points.

Inside The Box Score

• The Titans bench outscored the Scarlet Hawks 35-12.
• Wisconsin-Oshkosh won the points off turnover battle 17-6.
• The Scarlet Hawks were outscored in the paint 48-26.

Up Next
The Scarlet Hawks return to Chicago this weekend to compete in the Midway Classic at the University of Chicago. They will face Albion on Saturday at 4:00 PM. With a win the Scarlet Hawks would face the host UChicago Maroons on Sunday night at 5:00 PM, while a loss to Albion would have the Scarlet Hawks playing Cal Tech on Sunday morning at 11:00 AM.