FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The No. 5-ranked Indiana Tech men's basketball team defeated Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) foe Rochester, 83-73, in overtime on Wednesday evening at the Schaefer Center to pick up their third consecutive win and sixth straight win in conference play.
 
Darren Groves had a monster night with 22 points and a career-high 20 rebounds, while Dylan Phair added 20 points of his own in addition to four assists. Edmond Early, Jr. chipped in 11 points off the bench while Joel Wincowski and Nic Williams had 10 points each.
 
Tech would start off the game with a 29-17 run and used a 13-4 run to make it a 12-point lead, their largest of the game, with nine minutes left in the first half. Rochester would respond with a 14-4 spurt though, to tie the game up at 31 with 4:44 on the clock. The Orange and Black would close the half on a 9-6 run though to take a 40-37 lead into the locker room at the half.
 
The visiting Warriors hold the advantage in the first 10 minutes of the second half, using an 8-0 run to take a 51-47 lead with 13:41 to go in regulation, as they took their first lead of the game at the 14:15 mark following an and-one play by Kash Blackwell. A basket from Max Huber would snap a 4:46 scoring drought for the home Warriors, but the fifth-ranked team in the nation would face a five-point deficit with 9:29 on the clock.
 
Tech would cut the deficit back down to one possession but the visitors would hold on to the lead until 2:48 was up on the clock as Wincowski hit a pair of free throws to tie the game as 60, while Phair would sink two free throws on Tech's next possession to give the hosts a 62-60 lead with 2:11 in regulation. Rochester would score the next four points to go ahead 64-62 with 66 seconds on the clock, but a jumper from Williams and a runner in the paint from Wincowski with eight seconds to go would give the Warriors a two-point lead. Rochester would tie the game with under a second to go though as Justin Nafso hit a layup to send the game into overtime.
 
Tech would take the lead right off the back in the extra session as Scott Schwieterman hit the back-end of a trip to the free throw line to make it a 67-66 game, while another basket from Wincowski would give the Warriors a three-point lead with 3:25 to go. The Orange and Black would get ahead by four, but couldn't shake Rochester until the final 75 seconds as they went 7-8 from the charity stripe and held RC scoreless down the stretch to come away with the 83-73 win.
 
Tech (17-3, 9-1 WHAC) returns to action on Saturday as they start the second half off conference play on the road against Siena Heights. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. from the SHU Field House.