FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The No. 24 ranked Indiana Tech men's basketball team opened their season by hosting the WHAC/CL Challenge on Friday and Saturday in the Schaefer Center. On Friday, the Warriors started their campaign against the No. 9 ranked Indiana Wesleyan Wildcats, winning 85-83 to start the season 1-0. On Saturday, a slow start plagued the Warriors as they fell to Spring Arbor University 83-69. The Warriors move to 1-1 to start the young season.
 
In the first half on Friday, the Warriors got off to a slower start than they would have hoped, as they found themselves trailing by 11 points with 14:46 left in the opening half. Tech slowly made their way back into the game and knotted the game 24-24 but could not maintain the moment as they found themselves trailing 43-34 heading into the break. Coming out of the locker rooms, Indiana Wesleyan matched their largest of 11, but Tech wasn't going away. A tough defensive effort by the Warriors, as well as outstanding offense from newcomer Nigel Martin, who scored 20 of his 30 points in the second half, saw the Warriors find their way back into the game and upset the Wildcats 85-83.
 
Martin led the Warriors in scoring with 30 points while adding 6 rebounds. Brady Titus scored 13 for Tech while contributing 6 rebounds and 1 assist. Javal Lewis posted 9 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 assists in his Tech debut. Dallas Roberts filled a needed roll off the bench with 8 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists.
 
Against the Cougars, the Warriors had a sluggish start as Spring Arbor opened the game on a 6-0 run, forcing a quick timeout from head coach Ted Albert. Out of the timeout, the Cougars didn't slow down, as they stretched their lead to 16 with 12 minutes left in the first half. Tech slowly cut into the lead and entered the break trailing by 4. The Orange and Black continued their climb back into the game and, with 10:47 on the clock, saw their first lead off a lay-in from Brady Titus. Down the stretch, the basket shrank for the Warriors as they struggled to find a bucket, and the tandem of Gabe Newhof and Travis Grayson was tough to stop defensively while the rest of the ensemble got hot from deep to put the game out of reach.
 
Dallas Roberts led the team in scoring with 15 points in his first start as a Warrior while also grabbing 3 rebounds and adding an assist. Nigel Martin scored 13 points with 6 rebounds. The other two Warriors in double figures were Brady Titus with 12 points and Max Perez with 10.
 
The Orange and Black are back in action on Saturday, November 4^th, as they host the No. 25 ranked team in the NAIA, Olivet Nazarene University, with the game scheduled to start at 3:00 p.m.