FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The No. 3-ranked Indiana Tech men's basketball team fell to Rochester, 84-68, in the semifinals of the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) Tournament on Saturday afternoon inside the Schaefer Center.
 
Joel Wincowski and Nic Williams each scored a team-high 13 points and grabbed six rebounds apiece. Scott Schwieterman and Max Huber both added 10 points while Edmond Early, Jr. scored nine points off the bench. Darren Groves chipped in seven points and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds.
 
The host Warriors took the first lead of the game off a Wincowski layup on their opening possession, but found themselves trailing 10-5 at the 15:49 mark of the first half. A 9-2 spurt from Tech gave them a 14-12 lead four minutes later. Rochester came right back with a 7-2 run to retake the lead at 21-18 thought with just over six minutes to play until the half.
 
The Orange and Black battled back to tie the game up at 28 after back-to-back three-pointers from Max Huber with 3:04 to go in the half, but the visiting Warriors closed the opening 20 minutes of play on a 12-0 run, hitting four triples in the last 2:35 of the period to take a 40-28 lead into the locker room.
 
A 7-2 run from the hosts, with Groves scoring all seven of Tech's points, would open the second half as the Orange and Black cut the deficit down to 42-35 at the 17:43 mark. Rochester quickly grew the lead back up to double digits though with back-to-back baskets while Armand Cartwright scored 14 consecutive points for the visitors during a 16-6 stretch to make it a 58-41 game with 11:27 on the clock. Cartwright finished with a game-high 26 points.
 
A jumper from Dylan Phair ended a three minute and 30 second scoring drought for the hosts at the 10:01 mark to make it a 15-points deficit while Tech went down by as many 20 during the home stretch. The home Warriors attempted to make an improbable comeback as they cut the Rochester lead down to 12 at 76-64 with 1:22 left in the game, but that would be as close as the third-ranked team in the country would get as they fell 84-68.
 
Tech will now await an at-large bid to the NAIA Division II National Championship. The NAIA Division II Bracket Reveal will take place on Wednesday, February 28 at 6 p.m. and broadcasted at the NAIA Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/PlayNAIA/.