By Jami Sponaugle

Chicago, Ill. - In their 3rd home contest of the 2022-23 season, the Illinois Tech Scarlet Hawks men's basketball team welcomed the Concordia University Wisconsin Falcons to the Keating Sports Center for a Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) contest. The game, which saw two Hawks record career highs, went in favor of the Hawks (4-6, 2-2) after going back and forth with the Falcons (2-6, 1-5) to start the contest. At the final buzzer, the Hawks secured a 82-70 victory. 

First Half (Illinois Tech 46 - Concordia Wisconsin 37) 

• It was a back-and-forth game through the beginning of the half, with the Falcons making the first basket. The Hawks got on the board at 18:36 with a layup by Caden Gigstad. Otis Reale then tied the game with 17:51 on the clock with a 3-pointer to make it 5-5. The Hawks held their first lead of the contest at 17:30 after a Reale layup. A layup by the Falcons quickly tied up the game at 7-7 before taking a 9-7 lead at 16:52. Another layup went in favor of the Falcons before Garrison Carter made it a 1-point game with a three at 16:04. Two free throws by Gigstad gave the Hawks the lead once again at 15:01. A 3-pointer by Furkan Mohamed put the Hawks up to a 15-11 lead before the Falcons came back to tie it at 15-15 with 12:36 remaining in the half. After a slight Falcon lead, followed by a 17-17 tie in the game, the Hawks took a 20-17 lead at 10:42 remaining off a Gigstad 3-pointer. From that moment on, the Hawks led the Falcons for the remainder of the game. As the Hawks continued to push offensively, the Falcons fought to keep it close. With 5:09 remaining on the clock, the Hawks held a slight, 33-30 lead over the Falcons. As the clock inched closer to halftime, the Hawks controlled the game offensively, closing out the half with a 13-7 run between 5:02 and the buzzer. Heading into the locker rooms, the Hawks held a 46-37 lead. 

Second Half (Illinois Tech 36 - Concordia Wisconsin 33)

• Coming out of halftime, Milos Dugalic opened up the half with a 3-pointer, followed by a Reale jump shot. Carter then joined in, making a layup to give the Hawks a 53-37 lead at 17:28 remaining on the clock. The Falcons got their first basket of the half at 16:09 with a layup. As time went by, the Hawks steadily held onto their lead. After a Falcon layup at 13:28, the Hawks held a 60-45 lead. Between 12:55 and 12:00 the Hawks picked up 6 points before the Falcons made a free throw at 11:16 to stop the Hawks scoring streak. With 10 minutes left on the clock, the scoreboard red 66-47 in favor of the Hawks. Through the remainder of the game, the Falcons fought to cut the Hawks lead, making it a 10-point game with 4:34 on the clock. Although the Falcons were applying pressure, the Hawks were able to keep control as they closed out the game with a 82-70 victory. 

Scarlet Hawk Standouts

• First year Garrison Carter led the Hawks with a career high 26 points. Carter made 9-of-16 from the field, 4-of-7 from three, and all 4 of his free throws. He provided 7 rebounds, tied the lead for assists with 4, and picked up 1 steal. 

• Gigstad picked up a career high of 22 points. Gigstad went 7-of-14 from the field, 4-of-8 from three, and also made all 4 of his free throws. Gigstad finished with 6 rebounds and 3 assists. 

• Dugalic finished with a double-double with 16 points, 14 rebounds. He tied for the lead with 4 assists, led the Hawks with 3 steals, and picked up 1 block. 

Falcon Standouts

• Gabe Pruss led the Falcons with 18 points. Pruss also had 3 rebounds, 1 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block. 

• Jackson Freeman followed with 15 points, 2 rebounds, and 1 steal. 

• Jared Jurss came off the bench to provide 15 points, 4 rebounds. Jurss led the Falcons with 5 assists and picked up 1 steal. 

Inside the Box Score

• The Hawks finished 28-of-58 (48.3%) from the field, 11-of-25 (44.0%) 3-pointers, and made all 15 of their free throws. The Falcons went 28-of-67 (41.8%) from the field, 4-of-24 (16.7%) from three, and made 10-of-15 (66.7%) of their free throws. 

• The Hawks outrebounded the Falcons 40-32.

• 18 assists were recorded for the Hawks while 12 were recorded for the Falcons.

• The Falcons forced the Hawks into 14 turnovers and picked up 12 points while the Hawks picked up 11 points off 9 turnovers. 

Up Next

The Hawks will be back in action on Wednesday when they host the University of Chicago Maroons inside the Keating Sports Center for a non-conference game. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.