Trailing by as many as 15 in the first half and eight at halftime, Lourdes used a 27-5 run midway through the second half to push past Indiana Tech on Wednesday evening and defeat the Warriors 74-65 inside the Schaefer Center in Fort Wayne, Ind.
After shooting just 31.6% from the floor in the opening stanza, the Gray Wolves connected at a 57.1% clip over the final 20 minutes while forcing the hosts into 13 turnovers in the second half.
"This was a great win," head coach
Dennis Hopson said afterwards. "They are always tough and a regular tournament team, so it's especially great to win at their place. Our energy improved a lot after halftime. We were too stagnant in the first half, but we had more movement and shot the ball well in the second half."
Joey Holifield (Toledo, Ohio/Cardinal Stritch H.S.) poured in 25 points, making 8-of-9 from the floor and 9-of-10 from the free throw line, while adding six steals and four assists.
McRay White (Cleveland, Ohio/Garfield Heights H.S.) added a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds.
Lourdes led 22-21 midway through the first half when Indiana Tech went on an 18-2 run to put the Warriors in front 39-24 with under two minutes to play before intermission. The Gray Wolves were able to score the final seven points of the half close the gap to eight, 39-31, when the horn blew.
The Gray Wolves still trailed by nine, 48-39, with under 14 minutes to play before going on their big run. The 27-5 spurt came over an eight-minute span, putting Lourdes in front for good while building a 66-53 lead of its own. The Warriors were able to close within six, 66-60, at the 3:40 mark, but that would be as close as they would get the rest of the way.
Brett Lauf (Napoleon, Ohio/Napoleon H.S.) tallied 10 points and dished out six assists while
Nick Welch (Temperance, Mich./Saint Mary Catholic Central H.S.) pulled down nine boards.
Rog Stein led Indiana Tech (3-4, 1-2 WHAC) with 17 points while Josh Kline added 16 more.
Lourdes (4-1, 1-1 WHAC) closes out its four-game road trip on Saturday afternoon, heading to Livonia, Mich. to battle Madonna. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. inside Alliance Catholic Credit Union Arena.
