MARION, Ind. – The Indiana Tech men's basketball team stood toe-to-toe with No. 3-ranked Indiana Wesleyan University Saturday afternoon in the final game of the 2020 WHAC/CL Challenge but came up just short in its bid for an upset over the national powerhouse, falling 97-88 inside Lucky Arena.
 
Cory McKinney had a team-high 18 points to go along with six assists and three rebounds. Josh Kline added 16 points, four rebounds and two assists while Grant Smith chipped in 15 points and seven rebounds. Rog Stein had 14 points, six rebounds and two steals while Max Perez had 12 points, five rebounds and three steals off the bench.
 
In the most anticipated matchup of the weekend between the preseason favorites in their respective leagues, the two teams combined for 12 lead changes and had seven ties while both shooting over 51% from the field. Halfway through the first half the scoreboard read 25-23 in favor of the Wildcats while a 7-0 run put them up 29-23 at the nine-minute mark. Tech didn't flinch though, keeping the deficit under five points the remainder of the half while a 10-2 spurt put them ahead 47-43 with 25 seconds left in the period. Three-time NAIA All-American and Crossroads League Player of the Year Kyle Mangas, also the reigning National Player of the Year, scored two of his game-best 38 points right before the buzzer through to make it a one-possession game at the break.
 
The Warriors lead would stay through the first two minutes of the second half as Mangas began to take over the contest, scoring 22 of his points in the final 20 minutes of the game as the Wildcats regained the lead with 17:53 on the clock. The Orange and Black would go back on top 57-56 with 17:04 on go following a basket from Kline, but the Wildcats would go on a 10-2 run to take a 66-59 lead. IWU stretched their lead to 11 at the 12:30 mark but was not able to shake the Warriors as they answered every spurt from the Wildcats with one of their own. A 6-2 run from Tech brought the visitors to within six points at 94-88 with 66 seconds to play in the game, but that would be the closest they would get as IWU held on to the 97-88 win.
 
Tech (1-1) returns to action on Friday, November 6 as they head north to Grand Rapids, Michigan for the Cornerstone Classic to take on Indiana University East (Friday) and Saint Xavier University (Saturday). Tipoff against IU East is set for 5 p.m. from Mol Arena.