FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Indiana Tech men's basketball team hosted cross-town rivals, the University of Saint Francis (Ind.), in the Schaefer Center on Wednesday night. Coming off a week-and-a-half break, the Orange and Black were looking to get back on track but came up short as they fell to the Cougars 72-79.  Tech moves to 1-3 in the early stages of their campaign.
 
The Cougars opened the game with a made three and followed it up with a lay-in to take their largest lead of the first half to open the game. Max Perez hit a three for Tech, and Nigel Martin knocked down a pair of free throws to draw level. The remainder of the first half was a close contest, with both teams trading buckets. The Warrior's largest lead was three at the 2:28 mark, but a Cougar free throw with 00:02 left in the first half saw the Warriors enter halftime trailing 38-37. The Warriors had a slow start out of the break, and the Cougars capitalized as they opened the second half on an 11-3 run, which extended their lead to 9. Some good defensive efforts and offensive sets allowed the Warriors to narrow the margin to 1 off an and-one dunk by Lucas Lyyski, but the effort came up short as the Cougars took control down the stretch, extending their lead back to 10 with 5:38 left in the game. The Warriors battled back but only cut the lead in half as the Cougars held on to win 79-72.
 
Brady Titus led the Warriors offensively with 18 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 assists. Nigel Martin scored 11 points while adding 1 assist. Lucas Lyyski was a spark off the bench for the Warriors as he scored 16 points while going perfect from the floor, 7-7, and added 5 rebounds and 2 blocks.
 
Tech opens conference play on Saturday as they host the defending WHAC Tournament Champions, Madonna University, with the game scheduled to begin at 3:00 p.m.