FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Indiana Tech men's basketball team defeated rival Cornerstone University 85-80 Monday evening inside the Schaefer Center. The win keeps the Warriors in a tie for second place in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) with Madonna University at 5-1.
 
Grant Smith led the way for Tech with 20 points, six rebounds and three assists while Rog Stein had 19 points, five rebounds and two assists off the bench. Josh Kline had 18 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks while Cory McKinney had 17 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals.
 
The latest chapter of the rivalry between the Warriors and Golden Eagles lived up to the hype with neither side taking more than a two possession lead until the 12:47 mark when Tech held a 14-10 advantage. A bucket from Kline made it a six-point game at the 12:26 mark, but back-to-back triples from Cornerstone knotted the game up just 30 seconds later. Both teams traded punches as they attempted to grab the upper hand and the Warriors were able to grab some momentum thanks to a 10-3 run that put them ahead 36-29 at the 6:03 mark. Cornerstone managed to cut the deficit back down to 38-35 with 1:51 to go in the first half, but Tech held steady and entered the locker room leading 44-39.
 
After fending off an early charge from the Golden Eagles to start the second half, where the visitors cut the deficit to 49-47 with 16:08 to play, the Warriors were able to open things with a 7-0 run to push the lead up to 66-55 with 9:59 left to go. Cornerstone did not flinch though, battling back with a 10-2 run to cut the Warrior lead to 70-67 at the 6:41 mark. After a quick spurt from the Warriors put them up by seven, the Golden Eagles roared back with a 12-5 run to knot the game up at 70 with 71 seconds remaining on the clock. The visitors never saw the lead though as Smith knocked down a pair of free throws with 35 second to play. With the lead at 83-80 with nine seconds to go, Tech fouled the Golden Eagles to send them to the stripe for a one-and-one opportunity and the visitors missed the front end and Smith grabbed the rebound and sank a pair of free throws with less than two seconds remaining to go 6-6 from the charity stripe in the final 35 seconds to ice the game and give the Warriors their 10^th home win of the season.
 
Tech (14-7, 5-1 WHAC) returns to action Wednesday as they travel to Lawrence Technological University. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. from Don Ridler Field House.