Chicago, Ill. - The Illinois Tech men's basketball team faced a tall order Tuesday night at the Keating Center in their final game before their holiday break: taking on the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) top team - Wisconsin Lutheran. The Warriors proved to be too much to handle, defeating the Scarlet Hawks 71-55. The Scarlet Hawks dropped to 2-3 in NACC play, and 3-8 overall. The Warriors remained undefeated in conference play at 5-0, and improved to 9-1 overall.
Turnovers and fouls were the difference in the ballgame. The Scarlet Hawks turned the ball over 22 times, which lead to 20 Wisconsin Lutheran points. The Warriors were also able to get 21 free throw attempts, converting on 14 of those, while the Scarlet Hawks were limited to just 6 free throws, making 4.
First Half (Wisconsin Lutheran 34 - Illinois Tech 25)
A Garrison Carter layup at the 18:45 mark on the first half opened the scoring in the game, and ultimately represented the Scarlet Hawks only lead of the game. A subsequent 10-0 run by the Warriors, capped off by a Ryan Broeckel layup at the 14:58 mark gave Wisconsin Lutheran a 10-2 lead. A Nicolas Ortiz free throw one minute later cut the Scarlet Hawks first half deficit to 6 points, but that would be as close as they would get. An AJ Vos putback at 6:34 gave the Warriors their largest lead of the first half at 14 points at 28-14. The Scarlet Hawks used an 11-6 run to cut their halftime deficit to single digits at 34-25. Tomas Teklegergis led the Hawks with 6 points in the opening half.
Second Half (Wisconsin Lutheran 37 - Illinois Tech 30)
The Scarlet Hawks battled back in the second half to tighten up the game. A pair of DeAndre Vortes free throws at the 11:17 mark cut the Illinois Tech deficit to 3 points, trailing 44-41. The teams would trade baskets over the next three minutes before the Warriors reasserted themselves and took over the game. A layup basket and subsequent "and 1" by Vos capped off a 9-0 run by the Warriors, giving them their largest lead of the game at 18 points, putting the game out of reach. Carter paced the Hawks in the second half with 10 points while pulling down 4 rebounds.
Scarlet Hawk Standouts
Warriors Watch
- AJ Vos was all over the scoresheet, with 18 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks.
- Ryan Broeckel with 15 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists.
- Grayson Goets with 14 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals.
Inside The Box Score
- The Warriors had a 16-4 advantage in second chance points.
- Points in the paint were even, with each team scoring 34 within the key.
Up Next
The Scarlet Hawks head to a much-needed holiday break. They will return to practice on December 28th in advance of their non-conference game at North Central College (IL) on Saturday, December 30th at 3:00 PM
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