The Aquinas men's basketball team battled tough, but came up short against WHAC-leading Indiana Tech on Wednesday night (Jan. 26) in Fort Wayne, Ind. The hometown Warriors outscored AQ by five points in each half and captured a hard-fought 66-56 conference win.
 
Wednesday's result puts Aquinas at 12-11 overall and 6-8 in WHAC play, while Indiana Tech stays on top of the conference standings with a 12-2 league tally. The Warriors are 18-6 overall.
 
A back-and-forth first half saw IIT lead 40-35 at the intermission and the game turned into a defensive effort over the final 20 minutes, with the Warriors outscoring AQ 26-21 in the second half. For the game, Indiana Tech shot 43.4 percent from the field and 3-of-15 from three-point range. The Saints shot 29.4 percent overall and went 7-of-25 from downtown.
 
In a game decided by 10 points, Indiana Tech (17-of-20) held an eight-point edge over Aquinas (9-of-10) at the charity stripe. 
 
Each team had three double-digit scorers. Sammie Ryans tied for game-high scoring honors with 16 points and seven rebounds. He shot 5-of-9 from the field and made all five free throw attempts. Justin Lary battled foul trouble, but still recorded 11 points in just 16 minutes, making a pair of three-pointers and adding four rebounds.
 
Gabe Overway recorded 10 points and five rebounds, four coming on the offensive end. Tommy Gregwer hit a pair of three-pointers, while Menalito McGee totaled six rebounds, five points, two assists, and two steals. Jesse Hillis tied Ryans with a team-high seven rebounds. 
 
The Warriors led 27-16 midway through the first half before an 11-0 Aquinas run tied the game just four minutes later. Ryans and Lary connected on back-to-back three-pointers, followed by a Jaylen Rutherford layup. McGee drilled a triple of his own to tie the score at 27-all. 
 
Trailing 31-29, Lary converted a rare four-point play, knocking down a three-pointer and hitting the free throw after a foul. That put AQ on top 33-31 with three minutes remaining in the half. Indiana Tech responded with a 9-2 run to end the half and lead 40-35 at the intermission.
 
A three-pointer from Gregwer with 9:43 remaining in the game made it 49-46 in IIT's favor, which would be the closest the Saints would get in the second half. The Warriors scored the next six points and stayed in control, closing out the home victory. 
 
Aquinas returns home on Saturday (Jan. 29), where the Saints will play four of their final six regular season games. AQ hosts UM-Dearborn at 3:00 p.m. and looks to sweep the season series from the Warriors after winning 75-62 on Nov. 20 in Dearborn.