CHICAGO, Ill. - The Illinois Tech men's basketball team returned from the holiday break in strong fashion on Friday night at the Keating Sports Center. Hosting Knox College, the Scarlet Hawks featured a balanced offense and stout second half defense to cruise past the Prairie Fire 76-55.

How it Happened

• The contest was back-and-forth early until a 7-0 run from Tech gave the Hawks a 17-10 lead with 10:37 left in the half. 
• However, Knox was able to cut into the deficit, slowing chipping away to tie the score at 25-25 with just over three minutes before halftime.
• Tech managed to get some key stops before the halftime whistle to take a 32-28 advantage heading into intermission.
• To start the second half, Illinois Tech came out ready to play. Malik Howze and Max Hisatake each tallied five early points as the Scarlet Hawks stretched the lead to 10 (44-34) before five minutes ticked by.
• While Tech continued to pour it on offensively, the defense tightened up as well. Knox went scoreless for over six minutes, allowing the Scarlet Hawks to go up 18 (55-34) with 10:18 remaining in the half.
• The play of the game may have came at the 6:01 mark, as Anthony Mosley Jr. banked in a three-pointer while drawing a foul to create a four-point play. The three gave Tech its largest lead of the contest at 66-43.
• Capriest Gardner and Calvin Schmitz added late offense for Tech as the Scarlet Hawks rolled to victory.

Scarlet Hawk Standouts

• Jake Digiorgio and Hisatake were both beasts on the boards, recording double-doubles. Digiorgio had 13 points, 13 rebounds, and five steals, while Histake recorded 12 points, 12 rebounds, and five blocks.
• Mosley Jr. had 12 points and five assists.
• Gardner was a solid contributor off the bench, scoring 11 points in just 16 minutes.
• Schmitz was a perfect 4-of-4 from the field, scoring nine bench points in 12 minutes of action.

Stats to Know

• Illinois Tech assisted on 20 of 30 made baskets (66.7%), the team's highest ratio of the season.
• Tech had 27 points from its bench, also a season-high.
• Illinois Tech moved to 8-3 with the win, while Knox fell to 2-8.

Up Next

• The Scarlet Hawks will host Trine University on New Year's Eve in a 3:00 p.m. Sunday matchup. Live audio, video, and stats will be available. The live audio will be powered by Illinois Media School.