Albion, Mich. -  During his season preview interview, Illinois Tech men's basketball head coach Terrence Gray had called out senior guard DeAndre Vortes as someone who they expected to make a big leap from last year to this season. During the Scarlet Hawks season-opening 87-75 loss at Albion Saturday evening, Vortes proved his head coach correct, scoring a game-high and career high 31 points in a breakout performance.

Vortes connected on 11 of 22 shots from the field, including 5 of 11 from three-point range, to go along with 4 of 5 from the free throw line to account for his 31 points, breaking his previous career-high of 18 points against DePauw in December of 2023.

How It Happened

First Half
The Scarlet Hawks started out strong, opening up an 11-point lead just over six minutes into the game, using a 7-0 run to build some distance between themselves and the Britons. A three-pointer by Vortes at the 11:51 mark kept the Scarlet Hawks lead at 11 points, leading 24-13. But in just over four minutes, the Britons erased the Hawks lead, using a 14-0 run to take a 27-24 lead. Albion would outscore the Hawks 18-14 over the final 7 minutes for a 45-38 halftime lead. Vortes paced the Hawks with 18 points in the opening half.

Second Half
The Scarlet Hawks chipped away at the Albion lead over the first seven minutes of the second half, and pulled within 2 points at 56-54 at the 12:57 mark after a Joshua Iguade three-pointer. But a 14-2 Britons run allowed Albion to extend their lead to 14 points at 70-56 with 9:29 remaining. A jumper by Vortes at the 3:33 mark capped off a 16-8 run for the Scarlet Hawks and pulled them within 6 points at 78-72. Albion would regroup, however, outscoring the Hawks 9-4 down the stretch to finish with a 12-point margin of victory. Vortes added 13 more points in the second half, with junior Garrison Carter adding 10 points.

Scarlet Hawk Standouts

• DeAndre Vortes with 31 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals
• Garrison Carter with 17 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals
• Freshman Jace Gooley with 10 points, 2 assists 
• Joshua Iguade with 7 points,  6 rebounds and 8 blocks

Inside The Boxscore

• Albion's Kurtis Rhodes led the Britons with 14 points
• The Britons had a 19-4 advantage in second-chance points, and their bench outscored the Hawks 48-5

Up Next
The Scarlet Hawks will return home to host Carthage College on Tuesday, November 12th at 7:00pm at the Keating Center.