Aurora, Ill. - Garrison Carter scored 26 points to lead a Scarlet Hawks offense that saw four other players score in double figures, and the Illinois Tech men's basketball team picked up a much needed road win Wednesday night at Aurora, defeating the Spartans 81-69. With the win, the Scarlet Hawks snapped an 11-game losing streak, while moving to 3-9 in Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) play and 4-15 overall. The Spartans fell to 4-7 in conference and 7-11 overall.

The Scarlet Hawks used a 12-0 run late in the second half to pull away. The Hawks shot 54% from the field for the game, including 54% from three-point range on 13-24 shooting. The Spartans were only able to connect on 2 of 14 three-pointers - a 14% clip.

First Half (Illinois Tech 39 - Aurora 39)
Neither team could gain an advantage during the opening nine minutes of the first half, as the teams were tied 13-13 with 11:11 remaining. After Rodney Murphy connected on a jumper in the paint at 9:05 to cut the Scarlet Hawks deficit to two points, the Spartans went on a 9-0 run to jump out to their biggest lead at 11 points with 7:23 remaining. But the Hawks would battle back, outscoring the Spartans 20-9 the remainder of the half to tie the game at 39-39 entering halftime. Carter and DeAndre Vortes led the Scarlet Hawks with 12 points each in the first half.

Second Half (Illinois Tech 42 - Aurora 30)
A Dario Biaggi three-pointer at the 17:06 mark of the second half completed a 10-2 run for the Scarlet Hawks, giving them an eight point lead. The Spartans countered with a 12-2 run of their own to take a 53-51 lead with 11:25 remaining. After playing even over the next two minutes, the Scarlet Hawks went on their best run of the game, using a 12-0 run to take a twelve-point lead with 4:09 remaining. The Hawks would extend their lead to 16 points on a Caden Gigstad three-pointer with 1:05 remaining before closing out the game with the 12-point margin of victory. Carter added 14 more points in the second half to lead all scorers.

Scarlet Hawk Standouts

• Garrison Carter led the Scarlet Hawks with 26 points(including 4-4 from three) and 5 rebounds, while adding 5 assists.
• DeAndre Vortes scored 14 points while pulling down 3 rebounds.
• Caden Gigstad with 11 points (3-4 on three-pointers), 3 rebounds and 2 assists.
• Dario Biaggi with 11 points (3-6 from three), 2 rebounds and 2 steals.
• Andrew Veon had 10 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists.
• Joshua Iguade had 3 blocks and 3 rebounds in 11 minutes of work.

Spartans Watch

• Joevonn McCottry paced the Spartans with 19 points, including 8-8 on free throws, while adding 3 rebounds and 2 assists.
• Michael Osborne with 12 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 4 steals.
• Dwayne Jervier Jr. pulled down 13 rebounds and added 2 steals and a block.

Inside The Box Score

• Aurora had a 40-20 advantage in points in the paint.
• Illinois Tech shot 59% from the field in the second half, after shooting 50% in the opening frame.
• Illinois Tech had 20 assists in the game compared to 6 for Aurora.

Up Next
The Scarlet Hawks will head to Milwaukee on Saturday for the 2nd leg of their three consecutive road games, as they take on the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) at 3:15 PM in another NACC matchup.