By Jami Sponaugle

River Forest, Ill. - The Illinois Tech Scarlet Hawks men's basketball team hit the road on Tuesday to take on the Dominican University Stars in Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) action. The Hawks (10-12, 8-6) pulled off a 62-60 victory over the Stars (6-15, 1-13) to put themselves back in the win column. 

The Hawks are currently ranked 5th in NACC standings. 

First Half (Illinois Tech 31 - Dominican 28)

• Otis Reale made the opening basket of the contest off a 3-pointer to get things going. Not long after though, the Stars would take the lead from the Hawks. Between 12:56 and 9:33, the Hawks went on a 10-0 run to take the lead from the Stars. With 9:33 remaining until halftime, the Hawks led 19-16. The Hawks would keep the lead until the 4:47 mark when a free throw from the Stars tied the game at 23-23. From there, the Hawks took back their lead and were able to hold onto it for the remainder of the half, although the Stars fought to keep things close. A 3-pointer went in favor of the Stars right before halftime, but the Hawks held a 31-28 lead heading into the locker rooms. 

Second Half (Illinois Tech 31 - Dominican 32)

• Coming out of halftime, the Stars immediately tied the game up 31-31 off a 3-pointer. With 13:31 remaining in the game, the two sides would once again be tied, this time with the scoreboard reading 41-41. Quickly though, the Hawks went down the court to take back the lead. At 10:16, the Hawks held a 7-point, 48-41. With the Hawks in search of a victory, they were able to hold onto their lead for the remainder of the game. With the Stars within reach, the Hawks were able to stay ahead to secure the road victory and get themselves back in the win column. 

Scarlet Hawk Standouts

• Reale led the Hawks with 23 points and 6 steals. Reale ended the game with 4 rebounds and 1 assist.

• Desmond Price followed with 12 points, 6 rebounds, and 1 steal. 

• Coming off the bench, Milos Dugalic picked up 12 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 block. 

Star Standouts

• Joshua West led the Stars with 20 points and tied for the lead in assists with 4.. West finished with 6 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1 block. 

• Camron Scott led the Stars with 3 steals and 2 blocks while picking up 11 points and 6 rebounds. 

Inside the Box Score

• The Hawks went 27-of-61 (44.3%) from the field, 2-of-14 (14.3%) from three, and made 6-of-7 (85.7%) of their free throws. The Warriors went 24-of-59 (40.7%), 2-of-17 (11.8%), and 10-of-19 (52.6%) respectively. 

• The Warriors outrebounded the Hawks 42-34.

• 40 of the Hawks points were from the paint. 

• 21 points came off the bench for the Hawks. 

Head Coach TJ Gray's Comments:

"It was a great team effort. Mulitiple players contrinuted to key moments for us. I'm proud of the way we played."

Up Next

On Saturday, the Hawks travel to Wauwatosa, Wis. to take on the Wisconsin Lutheran College Warriors. The NACC contest is set to tip-off at 2:00p.m.