Chicago, Ill. - After starting the season 0-4, the Illinois Tech men's basketball team was hoping a little home-court cooking the day before Thanksgiving would be just what the doctor ordered to get themselves in the win column. That turned out to be the case, as the Scarlet Hawks fought off a comeback attempt by DePauw University for a 72-69 overtime victory Wednesday night at the Keating Center. The Scarlet Hawks improved to 1-4 overall. The Tigers fell to 2-4.

Nicolas Ortiz connected on a pair of free throws with 32 seconds remaining in the second half to tie the game at 65-65 and send it in to overtime. In the overtime period, a huge three pointer by Dario Biaggi, sandwiched around baskets by DeAndre Vortes and Garrison Carter provided all the scoring the Hawks would need to secure the win.

The Scarlet Hawks received double-digit scoring efforts from Vortes with a game-high 23 points, Carter with 15 points, and Biaggi with 10 points.

How It Happened

• First Half - Illinois Tech 35 - DePauw 31: A three-pointer by Garrison Carter with 14:18 to go in the opening half gave the Scarlet Hawks a 19-12 lead. The Tigers would push back, however, using a 10-4 run to pull within one point at 23-22 with 7:59 remaining. A pair of free throws by Vortes at 2:27 capped off a 12-6 run by Illinois Tech, re-establishing a seven-point lead at 35-28. DePauw would connect on three free throws down the stretch to close out the half trailing by four points. Vortes led the Hawks with 13 points in the first half.
• Second Half - DePauw 34 - Illinois Tech 30: Through the first ten minutes of the second half, the Scarlet Hawks held serve, maintaining a seven-point lead at 54-47. DePauw found their stride at this point, outscoring the Hawks 16-6 over the next seven minutes to lead 63-60 with 3:18 remaining in the half. Ortiz would connect on a three-pointer and a pair of free throws sandwiched around a pair of free throws by DePauw to tie the game at 65-65 to close out the second half. Vortes added 8 points in the second half.
• Overtime - Illinois Tech 7 - DePauw 4: Vortes would convert on a second-chance layup at 4:21 of overtime to take a 67-65 lead. Caleb Washington of DePauw would connect on one of two free throws to close within one point at 67-66. Biaggi's three-pointer at 2:44 gave Illinois Tech a 70-66 lead. Reph Stevenson of DePauw made three free throws down the stretch to close within 1 point at 70-69 with 1:25 remaining. But a layup by Carter of the Hawks with 1:00 remaining gave Illinois Tech a 72-69 lead, and a final-seconds possession by DePauw was thwarted by a steal by Carter in the final seconds to secure the overtime victory. 

Scarlet Hawk Standouts

• DeAndre Vortes with a game-high 23 points on 8-13 shooting, including 3-6 from three-point range, 3 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 assist in 33:19 minutes played
• Garrison Carter with 15 points and 6 rebounds and 4 steals
• Dario Biaggi with 10 points
• Joshua Iguade with 9 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 blocks
• Nicolas Ortiz with 9 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists

Inside The Box Score

• Reph Stevenson led the Tigers with 15 points and 5 rebounds
• Eli Ellis added 11 points and 4 steals for DePauw
• Illinois Tech had an 18-4 advantage in second-chance points
• DePauw's bench outscored Illinois Tech 16-6
• Illinois Tech had a 42.9% field goal percentage; DePauw shot 37.3% from the field

Up Next
The Scarlet Hawks will enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday and then will be back on the Keating Center court this Saturday for a 1:00 PM tip off against the North Central College Cardinals in a non-conference matchup.