FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Indiana Tech men's basketball team suffered its first loss of the year to crosstown rival and fourth ranked Saint Francis, 72-55, on Wednesday evening at the Hutzell Athletic Center.
 
The Cougars led from start to finish and pushed its lead to as much as 21-8 in the first half as the Warriors struggled shooting the ball all night long, only shooting at a 35.7% clip from the field, 30.8% from the three-point line and 50% from the free throw line. Tech would turn the ball over 17 times and Saint Francis would convert the miscues into 13 points.
 
USF would out-muscle the Orange and Black on the boards as well with a 51-38 advantage and scoring 23 second chance points.
 
Dominique Walls led the Warriors with his third straight double-double of his Tech career, notching a team-high 18 points, 11 rebounds, three blocks and three steals while shooting 80% from the field. Jalen Huff would join Walls in double-figure scoring with 10 points, while Tanner Watkins chipped in nine points.
 
After USF scored the first six points of the game, Tech would roar back with 7-2 run to bring the Warriors with 8-7, but the No. 4 Cougars would come right back with a 13-0 spurt to take a 21-8 lead with eight and a half minutes to go in the first half. Saint Francis would take a 34-20 lead into halftime.
 
The hosts would use a 12-4 run to increase their lead to 46-24 and the Warriors would only be able to cut the deficit to 11 for the rest of the game.
 
Tech (2-1) opens Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) play on Saturday when they head to Grand Rapids, Michigan to battle another ranked foe in No. 3 Davenport. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. and links to live stats and video will be available at IndianaTechWarriors.com.