LIMA, Ohio – The Indiana Tech men's basketball team defeated the University of Northwestern Ohio, 76-74, Saturday afternoon inside the Garage in Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) action. With the win and an idle weekend for conference-leading Lourdes University, the Warriors moved back into a tie for first place in the WHAC standings with the Gray Wolves.
 
Mitch Morken had a team-high 18 points and five rebounds while Lucas Lehrman had 16 points, nine rebounds and three blocks. Cory McKinney added 14 points, five assists and two rebounds while Jeremy Davison had 12 points and five rebounds off the bench.
 
UNOH got out of the start fast with a quick 4-0 spurt, but a three-pointer from Dilyn Good sparked a 7-0 run for the Warriors to put them on top. The two teams traded baskets and leads over the next several minutes, but a 7-2 run from Tech pushed their lead to 27-20 with 10:03 left in the opening half. The Racers cut the deficit down to two points at 30-28 with 7:39 to play in the half, but the Warriors held firm onto the lead and entered the locker room leading 40-34.
 
The Warriors fed Lehrman early in the second half as the man in the middle poured in the team's first six points of the period to push their advantage to 46-36 at the 17:38 mark. UNOH would not let Tech's lead stay in double digits for long as they battled back to make it a one-point game with 10:50 to play and took the lead with 10:34 on the clock to cap a 10-2 run and get their first lead since early in the game. A triple from Morken restored the Warriors lead, but the game shifted to a back-and-forth battle over the last 10 minutes of the game.
 
The Racers held the Warriors scoreless for a four-minute scoring drought, but were only able to push their advantage up to three points before McKinney broke the drought at the 5:22 mark to knot the game up at 68. UNOH raced back ahead with a 74-69 lead and 3:43 on the clock, but that would be the final time the hosts would score in the game as Tech locked in defensively. A triple from Morken brought the Orange and Black with two points while an old fashioned three-point play from McKinney put the visitors on top 75-74 with two minutes to go. Good knocked down a free throw with 16 seconds left in the game to ensure a three pointer was needed for a Racers win in the final seconds, but the game-winning shot from Nathan Lessing, who finished with a game-high 21 points, was off the mark and the Warriors got back to victory circle with the thrilling comeback.
 
Tech (16-10, 12-4 WHAC) returns to action on Wednesday, February 12 as travel to Lawrence Technological University for a conference matchup. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. from Don Ridler Field House.