FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The No. 5-ranked Indiana Tech men's basketball team defeated Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) foe Aquinas, 90-81, on Wednesday evening in the team's "Suits and Sneakers" contest inside the Schaefer Center. The win was their 20^th of the season.
 
Scott Schwieterman led a balanced offensive attack for the Warriors, who had all five starters in double-digit scoring, with a career-high 22 points on 9-10 shooting while adding eight rebounds. Dylan Phair had 17 points, four rebounds and three assists while Darren Groves added 16 points and eight rebounds. Nic Williams and Joel Wincowski chipped in 15 and 13 points, respectively, while Jason Boateng blocked five shots.
 
Tech would get out to a 10-2 lead over the Saints with just two and a half minutes gone in the game, with Wincowski accounting for six of the 10 points. Aquinas began to chip away at the lead quickly though, using a 6-0 run to cut the deficit to two, with 16:32 on the clock. The Warriors lead would hold until a three-pointer from AJ Atwater at the 11:38 mark gave the visitors a 21-19 advantage, their first of the game, and force the hosts to call a timeout.
 
The Orange and Black retook the lead at 25-23 just over a minute later, but the Saints scrapped back to take a 27-25 advantage while holding the Warriors scoreless for the two minutes and 29 seconds until a jumper from Schwieterman tied it up at 27 with 7:36 in the first half. The two sides would trade baskets over their next few possessions, with a three-pointer from the Saints' Rob Deiz being the difference until an 8-0 run from Aquinas gave them a 42-33 lead with 2:16 until the half, and Tech would find themselves trailing 44-38 at the half.
 
Just two minutes and 18 seconds into the second and a 12-4 run from the Warriors though, would see the hosts regain the lead at 50-48 off a triple from Phair. The teams would trade ties and leads over the next six minutes, with neither side unable to get up by more than two points, until a jumper from Groves at the 9:17 mark would make it 66-62 Tech. Arsenio Arrington would counter with a layup to cut the deficit back down to two, but an 8-0 spurt from the Warriors would give them a 74-64 lead 6:25 to play.
 
Tech continued to hold their double-digit advantage over the Saints for the next four minutes, with a jumper from Williams in the paint giving the Orange and Black their largest lead of the game (13 points) at 84-71 with 3:05 on the clock. Aquinas cut the lead down to five points with 65 seconds to go, but a pair of free throws from Wincowski, as well as Boateng's five block of the night to highlight a great defensive stand from the Warriors, and a dunk from the redshirt-freshman, allowed Tech to come away with the 90-81 victory.
 
Tech (20-4, 12-2 WHAC) returns to action Saturday as they travel to Sylvania, Ohio for a conference battle with Lourdes. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. from the Russell J. Ebeid Recreation Center.