CHICAGO – MSOE men's basketball was looking to improve on their 5-2 start to the season when they headed to the Windy City to take on Illinois Tech. The two teams battled back and forth all evening, though it was the Scarlet Hawks that held a two-point lead over the Raiders when the final horn sounded.

FINAL SCORE
MSOE RAIDERS – 56
Illinois Tech – 58

HOW IT HAPPENED

• After scoring the opening basket of the ballgame, MSOE (5-3, 1-1 NACC) and Illinois Tech (2-6, 1-1) went back and forth before the Scarlet Hawks pulled away to lead the Raiders by six heading into halftime.
• The Red & White defense went to work in the second half while the MSOE offense increased their efficiency to get back even with IIT.
• Tied at 56-56, the Scarlet Hawks scored on a second chance opportunity to go up by two. Michael Pitrof then had a layup blocked in the final seconds to secure IIT's victory on Saturday afternoon.

RAIDER REMARKS

• It's always going to be a close matchup when the Raiders and Illinois Tech meet. In their last ten games, each ballclub has won five.
• Everything was pretty even in the major box score categories, although the Raiders did outscore the Scarlet Hawks by seven in points off turnovers.

MSOE STAT TRACKER
Points – Ty Miklowski & Michael Pitrof (11)
Rebounds – Will Busch (7)
Assists – Michael Pitrof (5)
Steals – Michael Pitrof (2)
Blocks – Will Busch (1)

WHO'S ON DECK
The Raiders will look to return to their winning ways when they take on Concordia Wisconsin inside Hotchkin Arena on Wednesday at 7:00 pm.

For up-to-the-minute MSOE Raiders news, visit us at www.go-raiders.com. You can also follow the Red & White on Twitter @MSOE_Raiders and @msoe_raiders on Instagram.