Chicago, Ill. – Inside the Keating Sports Center, the Illinois Tech Scarlet Hawks men's basketball team welcomed the Lakeland University Muskies for a Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) contest. With hopes of extending the excitement from senior day, the Hawks looked to break their losing streak in their second to last home contest of the 2024-2025 season. A win is what the wished for, and a win is what they got, as the Hawks (4-19, 3-13) came out on top with an 84-66 victory over the Muskies (7-16, 6-10) 

Before the contest, the Hawks honored their four seniors for their contributions to Illinois Tech both on and off the court: DeAndre Vortes, Allan Watatani, Bhuvanesh Rajagopal, and Ebone Junior. 

It was a back-and-forth game to start out the contest, but once Joshua Iguade gave the Hawks the lead with a layup at the 15:19 mark, making the score 11-9, the Hawks never looked back. Although the Muskies would make the score close at time, the Hawks fought to stay ahead in search of a victory. The largest lead of the half came with 3:58 on the clock when DeAndre Vortes made a free throw, making the game 37-26. At the halftime buzzer, the Hawks held a 6-point, 43-37 lead.  

The beginning of the second half started out strong for the Hawks, who went on a14-2 run to take a 58-39 lead with 13:31 remaining. The Hawks would continue to put up baskets, with their largest lead of the game coming at the 12-minute mark when a Vortes fastbreak layup put the Hawks on top 67-44, a 23-point lead. In the end, the Hawks were able to put up enough points and not let down, leading them to an 84-66 victory over the Muskies.  

SCARLET HAWK STANDOUTS 

DeAndre Vortes finished with 26 points after going 9-of-23 from the field, 1-of-5 from three, and 7-of-8 from the free throw line. Vortes finished with five rebounds and two steals 

Jace Gooley picked up 17 points after going 4-of-10 from the field, 1-of-4 from three, and 8-of-8 from the free throw line. Gooley also had seven rebounds, one assist, and one steal 

Nick Galati tallied a season high with 17 points after going 6-of-8 from the field and 3-of-3 from three. Galati finished with five rebounds and one steal 

Dario Biaggi recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Biaggi went 4-of-8 from the field and 2-fo-5 from three. Biaggi added on one assist and three steals 

Joshua Iguade finished with 10 points after going 4-of-5 from the field and 2-of-2 from the free throw line. Iguade also had eight rebounds, one assist, three blocks, and one steal 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE 

• Illinois Tech went 29-of-63 (46.0%) from the field, 7-of-21 (33.33%) from three, and 19-of-22 (86.4%) from the free throw line 

• Lakeland went 23-of-62 (37.1%) from the field, 7-of-20 (35.0%) from three, and 13-of-21 (61.9%) from the free throw line 

• The Hawks finished with 40 points in the paint, 20 fast break points, 20 points off turnovers and 42 points from the bench  

• The Muskies finished with 30 points in the paint and 18 bench points  

UP NEXT 

In their final home game of the 2024-2025 season, the Hawks will host the Concordia University Chicago Cougars in NACC action at 7:00 PM inside the Keating Sports Center.