DEARBORN, Mich. – The Indiana Tech men's basketball team defeated the University of Michigan-Dearborn, 83-67, Wednesday evening inside the UM-Dearborn Fieldhouse to clinch the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) regular season title for the second time in program history and the first time since the 2003-04 season. The win gives the Warriors an automatic bid to the 2020 NAIA Division II National Championship for the third straight season.
 
Mitch Morken led the way with a career-high 22 points and 11 rebounds to notch his third straight double-double and seventh of the season while adding three assists and two blocks and playing the entire game. Cory McKinney had 21 points, five rebounds and six assists while Dilyn Good had 16 points and three rebounds. Max Huber added 10 points and six rebounds.
 
The Wolverines got out to a 9-4 lead through the first three minutes of the game, but a triple from Huber sparked an 11-2 run for the visitors to put them ahead 16-11 with 14:48 to go in the first half. UM-Dearborn snapped a 2:22 scoring drought with a basket at the 13:18 mark to stop the run, but Tech continued to hold the lead and keep the hosts at bay with a multiple-possession advantage. The Wolverines were finally able to break through Tech's defensive stranglehold with an 11-0 run to go up 34-31 with 3:54 left in the half. A basket from McKinney snapped a 3:54 scoring drought for Tech at the 3:43 mark to get the Warriors back into the game while the sophomore sank a pair of free throws with a second on the clock to give the Orange and Black a 39-38 lead at the break.
 
The two sides exchanged baskets over the first five minutes of the second half, but a layup from Morken started a 7-0 spurt for Tech to put them ahead 56-46 with 13:11 to go. UM-Dearborn chipped away at the lead, cutting it down to eight points several times over the next seven minutes, but a jumper from Lucas Lehrman sparked a 5-0 run that pushed the lead up to 16 points with 1:56 left on the clock that was coupled with a 3:36 scoring drought by the hosts and sealed the game and the conference crown for the Warriors.
 
Tech (19-10, 15-4 WHAC) returns to action on Saturday as they host Aquinas College on Senior Day. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. from the Schaefer Center.