In a battle of teams tied atop the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference standings,10^th-ranked Lourdes withstood a second half surge from Indiana Tech to defeat the Warriors 64-61inside the Russell J. Ebeid Recreation Center on Wednesday night.
 
"A win is a win," head coach Dennis Hopson said afterwards.  "Indiana Tech is a great team, and they are well-coached.  We have to get better at numbers and need to learn how to read the scoreboard."
 
The Gray Wolves jumped out to a quick 9-2 lead only to see the Warriors score the game's next eight points.  Lourdes would retake the lead on a jumper by Joey Holifield (Toledo, Ohio/Cardinal Stritch H.S.) with 14 minutes to play in the opening half and maintain an advantage the remainder of the half.  An 8-0 run late in the stanza allowed the Gray Wolves to take a 37-29 lead into the locker room.
 
The Lourdes lead grew to nine, 44-35, less than three minutes into the second half following a Holifield triple but an 11-2 spurt by the Warriors allowed the visitors to pull even at the 12:33 mark.  The Gray Wolves would not surrender the lead until four straight points by Indiana Tech made it a 55-53 Warrior advantage with 5:47 remaining.
 
The Gray Wolves responded quickly, scoring the next eight points to retake a six-point lead with two minutes to play.  A four-point possession, started by a Will Stevens (Chicago, Ill./Brooks School [Mass.]) steal and score, followed by a foul capped the run and Lourdes would not allow Indiana Tech to pull even the rest of the way.
 
"Will came in and gave us a big spark tonight," Hopson added.
 
The Warriors cut the lead to two in the closing seconds and after a Lourdes free throw, had a chance to tie but the three-point attempt at the buzzer missed its mark.
 
Holifield and Shaunn Monroe (Charleston, W. Va./Fairborn [Ohio] H.S.) led Lourdes with 14 points each while Jackie Harris (Toledo, Ohio/St. Francis de Sales H.S.) added 12 more.
 
Ethan Damerum (Cressage, England/Chornwood Riders) grabbed 11 rebounds, including five of the Gray Wolves' 17 offensive boards on the night.
 
Brady Titus and Lucas Lyyski led Indiana Tech (11-6, 9-2 WHAC) with 15 points each.
 
Lourdes (14-1, 10-1) begins the second half of WHAC play on Saturday afternoon as the Gray Wolves host Michigan-Dearborn.  Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. inside the Ebeid Rec Center.