Milwaukee, Wis. - A sluggish first half proved to be too much to overcome for the Illinois Tech men's basketball team Saturday afternoon at MSOE, as a better second half was not enough to overcome the Raiders' early advantage, falling to the hosts 96-75. The Scarlet Hawks dropped to 3-10 in Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) play, and to 4-16 overall. The Raiders improved to 5-7 in conference and 8-11 overall.

Turnovers hurt the Scarlet Hawks on this afternoon, with 26 turnovers leading to 35 points by the Raiders. MSOE shooting was on-target as well, finishing with a 56% field goal percentage, including 50% from three-point range on 8 of 16 shooting.

First Half (MSOE 46 - Illinois Tech 29)
An early 6-2 lead for the Scarlet Hawks was quickly erased by the Raiders, who used a 9-0 run to take an 11-6 lead that they would never relinquish. The Hawks would get no closer than 2 points the remainder of the opening half, cutting their deficit to 13-11. An 8-0 run by MSOE put the Raiders back in the driver's seat, with MSOE eventually building a 17-point lead at halftime. Dario Biaggi paced the Scarlet Hawks with 14 points in the opening frame.

Second Half (MSOE 50 Illinois Tech 46)
A pair of free throws by MSOE's Mason Dopirak at the 8:19 mark gave the Raiders their largest lead of the game of 33 points, at 82-49. A late 26-14 push by the Scarlet Hawks allowed them to trim their final deficit to 21 points at game's end. Caden Gigstad paced the Hawks with 13 points in the second half.

Scarlet Hawk Standouts

• Caden Gigstad led the Hawks with 18 points while adding 2 steals.
• Dario Biaggi finished with 16 points, including 4 of 8 from three-point range, while adding 2 steals.
• Garrison Carter added 14 points and 3 rebounds.

Raiders Watch

• Mason Dopirak led all scorers with 35 points and 7 rebounds, while adding 5 steals and 2 assists.
• Donovan Carter had 16 points and 4 assists.
• Carson Cordelli had 12 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists.

Inside The Box Score

• MSOE had a 28-16 advantage in points in the paint.
• The Raiders converted on 26-27 of their free throw attempts, good for 96%.
• MSOE held the lead for 37:21 minutes of the game.

Up Next
The Scarlet Hawks will head to Plymouth, Wisconsin on Wednesday evening for the final leg of their three consecutive road games, as they take on Lakeland University at 7:00 PM in another NACC matchup.