Milwaukee, Wis - The Illinois Tech men's basketball team knew the odds were stacked against them for a late push to make the conference postseason tournament, but they still needed to win out for their remaining games and get some help. Unfortunately the Scarlet Hawks ran into the first-place Wisconsin Lutheran Warriors Wednesday night in Milwaukee, and the Warriors put an end to the Hawks hopes with a dominating 93-66 victory. The loss eliminated the Scarlet Hawks from the tournament chase, as they fell to 4-12 in Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) play, and to 5-18 overall. The Warriors improved to 14-2 in conference play, and to 19-4 overall.

The Scarlet Hawks Tomas Teklegergis posted a career-high in points with 20, shooting 8-9 from the field, including 3-4 from three-point range. Andrew Veon had another strong game with 16 points and 6 rebounds, but it wasn't enough, as the Warriors collected 14 steals on the evening while their bench outscored the Scarlet Hawks bench 26-11.

First Half (Wisconsin Lutheran 52 - Illinois Tech 24)
The Scarlet Hawks found themselves down by 18 points just over six minutes into the opening half, as Wisconsin Lutheran's Ryan Broeckel hit a three-pointer at the 13:49 mark to put the Warriors up 24-6. A pair of free throws by Andrew Veon capped off a 13-4 run by the Scarlet Hawks, pulling them within 11 points with 7:32 remaining in the half. But the Warriors responded with a 24-7 run to close out the first with a 28-point lead. Teklegergis led Illinois Tech with 7 points in the opening frame.

Second Half (Illinois Tech 42 - Wisconsin Lutheran 41)
The Scarlet Hawks opened the second half with an 8-0 run to cut their deficit to 52-32 just under three minutes into the period. The Warriors would forge ahead, however, opening up a 31-point lead midway through the half, up 76-45. Illinois Tech had one more push in them, using a 21-7 run to cut their deficit to 17 with 3:55 remaining, trailing 83-66. Unfortunately for the Hawks, that would turn out to be the last of their scoring, as Wisconsin Lutheran closed out the game with a 10-0 run for their final 27-point margin of victory. Andrew Veon led the Hawks with 14 points in the second half, while Teklegergis added 13 more to his total.

Scarlet Hawk Standouts

• Tomas Teklegergis with a career-high 20 points on 8 of 9 shooting (89%), including 3 of 4 from three-point range. 
• Andrew Veon added 16 points and 6 rebounds.
• Joshua Iguade with 7 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 blocks.
• Garrison Carter with 10 points, 2 assists and 2 steals.

Warriors Watch

• Ryan Broeckel led all scorers with 21 points, while adding 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals.
• Grayson Goetz added 17 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists.
• Jacob Stoltz with 14 points, 6 assists and 2 steals.

Inside The Box Score

• Illinois Tech shot a respectable 47% from the field, but Wisconsin Lutheran scored at a 55% clip.
• The Scarlet Hawks shot 4 of 14 from three-point range (29%), with the Warriors connecting on 13 of 30 (43%). 

Up Next
The Scarlet Hawks are back home on Saturday, February 10th, when they square up against Marian at 1:00 PM in the Keating Center in another NACC matchup.