LIVONIA, Mich. – The No. 5-ranked Indiana Tech men's basketball team saw its seven game conference winning streak snapped on Wednesday evening as they fell to Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) foe Madonna in overtime, 95-93, at the Activities Center.
 
Joel Wincowski led the Warriors with a career-high 24 points, nine rebounds, seven steals and five assists while Darren Groves had 19 points and six rebounds. Nic Williams added 15 points and seven rebounds while Dylan Phair chipped in 12 points. Scott Schwieterman rounded out Tech's double-digit scorers with 11 points and had seven rebounds.
 
Tech would two quick baskets from Groves to get out to a 5-0 lead over the Crusaders in the opening 90 seconds of the game, only to see the hosts come back with five quick points of their own. The Warriors would retake the lead on a jumper by Phair and would eventually use a 14-0 run to grow their advantage to 19 points with 3:54 to go in the first half.
 
Leading 43-26 at the break, the Orange and Black would come out in the second half on an 8-2 run to hold their largest lead of the game at 51-28 with 16:27 on the clock. Madonna would slowly chip away at the lead however, using a 16-4 spurt over the next seven minutes to cut the deficit down to 11 points with 11:44 to go in the half.
 
Tech would grow their lead back up to 16 with just under eight minutes to play in regulation, but the Crusaders would make it a six-point game with 3:14 on the clock thanks to an 11-4 spurt. The visitors would hold a two-possession lead or more until a triple from Josh Reynolds would make it a 79-76 game with 58 seconds left in regulation. A pair of free throws from Wincowski would push the lead up to five on their next possession, but Reynolds would counter with two of his own to keep Madonna within three. The Warriors would have two chances to ice the game in the final 15 seconds at the charity stripe, but all four of their attempts would miss the mark and the Crusaders' Jonathan Swift would hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to send the game into overtime.
 
Tech would feel the extra five minutes as they went into the period without Groves and Williams, who had both fouled out, and leaving them with no more subs on the bench for the extra session. Jason Boateng would give the Warriors the first lead of overtime with a free throw at the 4:35 mark, but the Crusaders would take the lead on their next possession and lead by six with 66 seconds left in the game.
 
A triple from Phair would cut the deficit down to three with 56 seconds to go and a basket by Wincowski would make it a 95-92 game with 15 seconds left, but that would be as close at Tech would get as Madonna pulled off the upset.
 
Tech (18-4, 10-2 WHAC) returns to action on Saturday as they welcome No. 1-ranked Cornerstone to the Schaefer Center. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m.