Chicago, Ill. – For their last home game before the New Year, the Illinois Tech Scarlet Hawks men's basketball team welcomed the St. Norbert College Green Knights to the Keating Sports Center on the evening of December 18th in a Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) contest. As the Hawks (3-7, 2-3) looked to extend their winning streak, the Green Knights (7-1, 5-0) had other plans. Off to a quick start, the conference undefeated Green Knights held the lead for most of the contest, going on to defeat the Hawks 74-66.
Action would start in favor of the Green Knights, who took a quick 8-0 at the 16:45 mark. Two free throws by Dario Biaggi got the Hawks on the board at 16:32, starting an 8-0 run of their own to tie the contest 8-8 at the 14:41 mark. Following a Green Knight jumper, DeAndre Vortes nailed a 3-pointer to give the Hawks a 1-point, 11-10 lead with 14:07 remaining in the first half. Unfortunately for the Hawks, this would mark their only lead of the contest, and it would not last long, as the Green Knights took back the lead at 13:36 with a layup. For the remainder of the half, the visitors looked to build a lead, but the Hawks fought to stay within reach. At halftime, the Green Knights led the Hawks 40-29.
In the beginning minutes of the second half, the Hawks cut into the Green Knights lead. Following two three pointers from Biaggi and one from Garrison Carter, the Hawks trailed by eight points as the Green Knights led 49-41 with 13:53 left. Fighting to keep the game within reach, the Hawks would cut the deficit to five points when Jace Gooley with a 3-pointer with 9:40 remaining to make the score 54-49. In the end, this would mark the closest the Hawks would get within the Green Knights. With the remaining minutes ticking away, the Green Knights held their lead, defeating the Hawks 74-66 and remained undefeated in NACC play.
Dario Biaggi led the Hawks with a season high of 18 points after going 6-of-12 (50.0%) from the field, 4-of-10 (40.0%) from three, and 2-of-2 (100%) from the free throw line. Biaggi added four rebounds, one assist, two blocks, and one steal. DeAndre Vortes and Garrison Carter followed with 14 points apiece.
Brandt Wilson led the Green Knights with a career high of 25 points after going 11-of-17 (64.7%) from the field and 3-of-6 (50.0%) from three. Wilson added five rebounds and one block.
UP NEXT
The Hawks will play one final game in 2024 when they travel to Kalamazoo, Mich. on Friday, December 20th, to take on the Kalamazoo College Hornets in non-conference action. This will mark the Hawks final game before going on Christmas break. Tip-off is scheduled for 4:00 PM CT/5:00 PM ET.