FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The No. 22-ranked Indiana Tech men's basketball team defeated the University of Northwestern Ohio, 79-72, on Wednesday evening in Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) action inside the Schaefer Center.
 
Dylan Phair led all players with a career-high 33 points on 12-17 shooting (4-6 three-point) while Edmond Early, Jr. added 11 points and five rebounds. Logan Primerano flirted with a triple-double of eight points, eight rebounds and seven assists while Lucas Lehrman had seven points and three rebounds.
 
The Warriors raced out to an 11-3 over the Racers in the first three and a half minutes of the game that was highlighted by a vicious dunk from Max Huber that sent the home crowd into a frenzy. A triple from Mitch Morken capped the run and forced UNOH to call a timeout at the 16:39 mark. The visitors would cut the deficit down to five points just over three minutes later following a 6-3 spurt, but Tech countered with a 12-4 run to make it a 26-13 game with nine minutes to play in the half.
 
The Orange and Black continued to hold a double-digit lead through the next several minutes, extending their advantage to as many as 14 points with 5:05 to play until the half, but the Racers battled back with a 13-6 spurt to make it a 39-32 game following the first 20 minutes of action.
 
Back-to-back threes from Primerano opened up the second half, but UNOH countered with an 8-4 run to cut the deficit to 47-43 with 15:14 on the clock. A triple from Phair would stop the momentum temporarily, but the Racers managed to make it a one-possession game at 50-48 with 13:40 to play. The Orange and Black then went on a 12-2 run to extend the lead back up to double digits at 62-50 with 7:15 left while holding UNOH scoreless for 3:28.
 
The lead continued to hover around double digits for the next few minutes, but six straight points from the Racers' Isaac Golson, Jr. made it a four-point game with 49 seconds to go. Phair would score five of Tech's last six points though, including going 3-4 from the free throw line in the final 31 seconds of the game, to help the Warriors pull away and notch their third straight win.
 
Tech (15-9, 11-3 WHAC) returns to action on Saturday, January 26 as they host Madonna University in a WHAC battle. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. from the Schaefer Center.