December 15, 2012

For Immediate Release

Box score

Adrian, Mich. – Two of the NAIA’s top ranked defenses squared off on Saturday when No. 20 Indiana Tech took the floor against conference rival Lourdes University. The Warriors, who entered the contest as winners of their last six games, saw their streak come to an end in a 57-51 defeat at the hands of the Gray Wolves.

After taking a two point lead just before halftime, Lourdes opened the second half on a 15-3 run, and despite a valiant comeback effort by the Warriors, the rally fell just short.

The victory by Lourdes marked the first time the home team has won in the prior four all-time meetings between the two teams.

The loss dropped Tech to 11-3 on the year and 5-2 in the conference while Lourdes climbed to 7-4 and 4-3 in the WHAC.

With the score tied 11-11 midway through the first half, the Warriors used a 9-2 scoring run to take their largest lead of the game with 8:06 to play in the opening period.

Lourdes regained the lead late in the half following a 7-0 spurt, but the advantage was short lived as Antonio Cannon (Indianapolis, IN/Ancilla) knocked down a three on the next possession to put the Warriors back in front.

With less than a minute remaining, a bucket by Jeff Hoskins (Kalamazoo, MI/Indiana Wesleyan) knotted the score at 28-28, but a last second foul by Tech sent the Gray Wolves to the charity stripe for two just before the break where they would convert on both free throw attempts.

Lourdes quickly added on to its lead in the second half, scoring 15 of the first 18 points to widen its margin to 45-31 with 14:21 remaining in the game.

Tech would respond though as the defense held the Gray Wolves scoreless for more than eight minutes while the offense scored seven unanswered points to cut the deficit in half. The Warriors continued to chip away, eventually trimming the LU lead to three, 51-48, following a basket by Melvin Brooks (Memphis, TN/Marion Military) with 0:29 left on the clock.

The Gray Wolves pushed the lead back to five after a pair of free throws, but a triple from Cannon narrowed the gap to two with five ticks remaining. However, Lourdes went 4-for-4 from the free throw line in the final seconds to seal the win.

Lourdes shot 45 percent from the field for the game while Tech hit 41 percent of its shots. Both teams were ice cold from behind the arc as the Gray Wolves were 0-for-5 and the Warriors just 3-for-19. Lourdes used its height advantage on Tech to come away with a 33-20 advantage on the glass.

Brooks led the way for the Warriors, scoring 13 points off the bench. Antonio Landers (Monroe, LA/John Wood) followed with 12 and Cannon added 11.

The Warriors are off until Dec. 29 when they host Ohio State University-Lima in a 4 p.m. tip.

For more information on Indiana Tech athletics please call the Athletic Office at 260-422-5561 ext. 2492 or visit our website at http://www.indianatech.edu/athletics