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Men's Basketball Falls to Rockford on Senior Day

Men's Basketball Falls to Rockford on Senior Day

Game Leaders

Rockford
Pts: Noody Lacey - 17
Reb: Noody Lacey - 9
Ast: Charles Burnell - 4
Illinois Tech
Pts: Milos Dugalic - 28
Reb: Milos Dugalic - 10
Ast: Derrick Faulkner - 4

Team Stats

Rockford
Illinois Tech

Field Goals

(24-56)
(23-46)

Field Goal %

42.9%
50.0%

Rebounds

31
22

Assists

10
13

Turnovers

12
15

Pts off Turnovers

12
8

2nd Chance Pts

15
6

Pts in the Paint

38
40

Fastbreak Pts

0
4

Bench Pts

10
4
full stats
Posted: Feb 18, 2023

By Jami Sponaugle

Chicago, Ill. - The Illinois Tech Scarlet Hawks men's basketball team welcomed the Rockford College Regents University Regents to the Keating Sports Center for Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) action. In the final regular season game of the 2022-23 season, the Hawks celebrated senior day. Unfortunately for the Hawks (11-14, 9-8), the game did not end in their favor as the Regents (13-10, 8-8) defeated them 66-62. 

The Hawks finish the season as the fifth seed and will head to the NACC tournament. 

Senior Day

Before the game, the Hawks honored their four seniors: Derrick Faulkner, Otis Reale, Jay Lomax, and Milos Dugalic. Congratulations to these seniors for their careers as Scarlet Hawks. Thank you for your contributions to Illinois Tech noth on and off the court. 

First Half (Illinois Tech 32 - Rockford 26)

  • An Otis Reale 3-pointer began the game before the Regents answered with a three of their own. The two sides would go on to face multiple ties and lead changes before the Hawks were able to get ahead. A Milos Dugalic free throw put the Hawks up 16-11 with 11:06 remaining in the first half. Although the Regents came within one multiple times, the Hawks were able to hold onto their lead for the remainder of the quarter. At halftime, the Hawks held a 6-point, 32-26 lead. 

Second Half (Illinois Tech 30 - Rockford 40)

  • The Regents began the second half with a 5-0 run to come within 1-point as the Hawks led 32-31 with 18:22 on the clock. A Duglaic layup put the Hawks up 34-31 before a Regents 3-pointer tied the game. After the Hawks briefly took back the lead, the Regents would tie the game again at 37-37 before the Hawks quickly went back on top. At 14:05, the Hawks led 39-37. The game would remain in favor of the Hawks until 8:02 when the Regents tied it at 51-51. Once again, the Hawks would take back the lead before the Regents would get two free throws followed by a layup to take a 1-point, 57-56 lead over the Hawks. Desmond Price then made two layup to put the Hawks back on top at 58-57 with 2:50 remaining. An and-1 gave the lead to the Regents before Dugalic tied it at 60-60 with two free throws at the 2:02 mark. A 3-pointer would go in favor of the Regents for the visitors to take the lead. The Regents built on the lead then with 25 seconds remaining after making a free throw to make it 64-60. A layup put the Hawks down by 2 with 8 seconds left in the game. Two free throws for the Regents gave Rockford the 66-62 lead with 5 seconds left. The Hawks were unable to get any more offensive action rolling as they fell to the Regents. 

Scarlet Hawk Standouts

  • Dugalic picked up a season high of 28 points while recording a double-double with 10 rebounds. Dugalic also picked up a career high of 5 blocks. He also finished with 1 assist.

  • Caden Gigstad ended with 10 points and 3 assists.

  • Reale also had 10 points and notched 1 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal. 

Regents Standouts

  • Noody Lacey led the Regents with 17 points, 9 rebounds. Lacey finished with 1 steal and 1 block as well. 

  • Micah Swanson had 16 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, and 1 block.

  • Kevin Diemer tallied 12 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assist, 1 steal, and led with 2 blocks. 

  • Charles Burnell rounded out the double-digit scorers with 11 points and led with 4 assists. Burnell ended with 1 rebound.

Inside the Box Score

  • The Hawks finished 23-of-46 (50.0%) from the field, 1-of-14 (7.1%) from three, and made 15-of-17 (88.2%) of their free throws. The Regents went 24-of-56 (42.9%), 4-of-17 (23.5%), and 14-of-16 (87.5%) respectively.

  • The Regents outrebounded the Hawks 31-22.

  • The game saw 9 ties and 5 lead changes. 

Head Coach TJ Gray's Comments

"Today was a tough one for us. Our team came out with great focus, intensity and intention to start the game and it showed in our first half performance. We were doing a lot of the things we had discussed in practice and I was happy to see that. Rockford made some great second half adjustments and we countered those adjustments well. I think fatigue set in late in the game and our decision making was not as sharp as it needed to be to pull out the victory. But Rockford earned that win and I give them credit for that.

It was such a great atmosphere for us to play in. Felt very playoff-like. Great support from our fans and student body on senior night. I am a bit disappointed we couldn't come out with the victory, but I'm extremely grateful that our seniors were able to experience such an unforgettable moment. Words could never express how proud I am of each of our seniors. They all contributed in a major way to this game. They truly left us with some things we can build on as we move into the playoffs."

Up Next

With the conclusion of the 2022-23 regular season, the Hawks now turn their focus towards post-season play. On Wednesday, the Hawks will travel to Lisle, Ill. where they will take on the Benedictine College Eagles at 7:00p.m. in the first round of the NACC tournament. During the regular season, the Hawks and Eagles split their series, with the Eagles taking a 80-78 victory on January 17 in the Keating Sports Center, and the Hawks taking a 64-64 overtime victory in Lisle, Ill.