LIVONIA, Mich. – The Indiana Tech men's basketball team fell to No. 24-ranked Madonna University, 89-73, Wednesday evening in Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) play inside the Activities Center.
Lucas Lehrman led the Warriors with a career-high 18 points on 6-11 shooting while adding four rebounds.
Cory McKinney had 15 points, four rebounds and four assists while
Mitch Morken chipped in 14 points, six rebounds and four steals.
Dilyn Good had 14 points and five rebounds in his first start of the season.
The Warriors fed Lehrman early and often as the sophomore center scored the first six points of the game for Tech to give them a 6-2 lead three and a half minutes into the game. The Crusaders came charging back though thanks to four quick points from Joshua Reynolds, who had a game-high 25 points, and a triple from Dwight Burton, who finished with 24 points, put the hosts up 12-6 at the 14:31 mark. A layup from McKinney broke a 3:11 scoring drought for the Warriors while back-to-back baskets from Lehrman brought Tech to within five points at 17-12 at the 10:53 mark. That would be as close as the visitors would get back to the lead in the first half though, as Madonna extended its advantage up to 15 points late in the period, but a pair of free throws from Lehrman and a layup from Morken made it a 40-29 game in favor of the Crusaders at the half.
A three-point barrage from the Warriors gave them some energy to start the second half as Good and McKinney both knocked down two long-range shots while a triple from
Max Huber brought Tech to within five points at 51-46 with 15:28 to play and capped a 14-5 spurt. The duo of Burton and Reynolds proceeded to take over the game, scoring Madonna's next 15 points, but the Warriors were able to stay within striking distance, trailing 66-60 with 7:49 on the clock. The hosts were able to lean on their depth to pull away late though, outscoring Tech 13-4 over the final three minutes of the game to snap the Warriors three-game winning streak.
Tech (15-10, 11-4 WHAC) returns to action on Saturday as they travel to the University of Northwestern Ohio for a conference matchup. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. from Racer Gymnasium.