by Eric Willuweit

Platteville, Wis. – The Illinois Tech men's basketball team fell behind 3-0 on a made three-pointer by the host Wisconsin Platteville 55 seconds into the game, and they were never able to catch the Pioneers the rest of the way, dropping the non-conference matchup 71-63 Saturday afternoon. The Scarlet Hawks dropped to 2-4 on the season. The Pioneers improved to 4-2.

Despite a second half in which the Scarlet Hawks outplayed the Pioneers, they were never able to recover from a first half of play that saw the Hawks trailing by 14 points at the break

First Half (Wisconsin Platteville 37 – Illinois Tech 23).

The Pioneers jumped on the Scarlet Hawks early, holding a ten-point lead just over six minutes into the opening half, leading 15-5.

The Hawks would close to eight points twice afterwards, but the Pioneers continued to press the issue, building a lead of 36-15 with 3:44 remaining before an Otis Reale layup with 32 seconds remaining brought the Hawks within the 14-point halftime deficit of 37-23. Milos Dugalic led the Hawks with eight points and five rebounds in the opening frame.

Second Half (Illinois Tech 40– Wisconsin Platteville 34)

The Scarlet Hawks mounted a comeback effort in the second half. A three-pointer by Reale two minutes into the half, cutting their deficit to 38-30. A three-pointer by the Pioneers at the 15:38 mark pushed their lead back to 14 points at 44-30.

After increasing their lead to 52-36 with just under ten minutes to play, the Pioneers had to hold off a late charge by the Hawks. A Dugalic jumper with 2:30 remaining pulled the Scarlet Hawks within four points at 62-58. The Hawks would be unable to close the gap however, eventually falling 71-63.

Scarlet Hawk Standouts

• Dugalic finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds
• Caden Gigstad added 12 points.
• Reale added 11 points and 5 assists.

Pioneers Watch

• Tyler Ellingson finished with 18 points.
• Ben Probst had 15 points.

Inside the Box Score

• The Hawks shot 22% from three-point range on 4-18 shooting. The Pioneers shot 57% from three on 8-14 shooting. 
• The Scarlet Hawks shot 45% from the field; Wisconsin Platteville shot 53%.
• Illinois Tech committed 18 fouls; the Pioneers had 22 fouls.
• Illinois Tech was 11-15 from the free-throw line for 73%. Wisconsin Platteville was 13-21 (62%).
• Reale was the minutes leader for the Hawks with 37 minutes. Probst played 31:46 minutes for the Pioneers.

Up Next

• The Scarlet Hawks return home on Tuesday, November 29, when they take on Aurora University for their NACC conference-opener at 7:00pm at the Keating Sports Center.