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Posted by Patrick Moore - Men's Basketball - Wed, Feb 10, 2010
Leroy Allen
Leroy Allen
Site: Fort Wayne, Ind. (Schafer Center)
Score: Indiana Tech 82, Madonna University 74
Records: MU 5-21 (2-9 WHAC); IIT 10-16 (4-7 WHAC)
Next MU event: Saturday, February 13 at Cornerstone (Mol Arena), 3pm

BOX SCORE

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (MadonnaCrusaders.com) - - The Madonna University men's basketball team came into the Hoosier State looking to extend its Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference winning streak to two but after rallying from an 18-point deficit in the second half, the Crusaders fell 82-74 to Indiana Tech on Wednesday night (Feb. 10) inside the Schafer Center.

Senior forward Leroy Allen led MU with a season-high 23 points on 11-of-14 shooting from the floor while pulling down a game-high 13 rebounds. Junior guard Bryant Slaughter (Westland, Mich.) added 21 markers and a team-best six assists. Shaun Cabrera led all players with 28 points for Tech.

The Crusaders led through out the early going, going up by as many as seven with 10:31 left on a jumper from sophomore wing Tyler Coker (Whitmore Lake, Mich.) to make it 19-12 in favor of the Crusaders. 

Tech then went on a 12-5 run to force the first tie of the game at 24-all with just under seven minutes left in the half. The two teams traded the lead back and forth over the nedt three minutes until freshman wing Fred Williams (Oak Park, Mich.) put the Crusaders back on top with a three from Allen to make it 31-28 with 4:21 left.

The Warriors responded with another run, this one of the 10-0 variety that put the home team on top by seven at 38-31 with 1:57 left in the half. Tech and MU traded buckets but the Warriors took a 43-48 lead into halftime.

Coming out of the intermission, Tech exploded, going on a 15-2 run over the first 3:26 of the half to push its lead out to 18 at 58-40. Madonna cut into the deficit, getting scores from sophomore Mike Clark (New Boston, Mich.), junior Ryan Waidmann (Canton, Mich.), Allen and a three from Slaughter to pull back to with in eight at 64-56 with 11:26 left.

The two teams traded baskets before Tech went back up by 10 on a jumper from Anthony Johnson that made it 68-58. Madonna then turned the tables on Tech, going on an 11-1 run to take the lead at 70-69. Slaughter started the run with a three and that was followed up with a jumper in the lane by Allen and a Slaughter runner made it a four-point game at 69-65 with 6:40 to go. 

Another Allen score followed by a three from Clark capped the run that put the Crusaders on top 70-69. The three by Clark completed a run that took the Crusaders from down 18 to up one and saw them outscore the Warriors 30-11 over a span of 13:10.

Tech retook the lead on its next trip before MU tied the game on an Allen free throw to make it 71-71 with 2:03 left.

The Warriors came down on the next trip and were fouled, reclaiming the lead at the free throw line with 1:48 left in the game. The Crusaders were then forced to foul and the Warriors converted six of their eight attempts at the line while the Crusaders went cold from the floor, making just one field goal over the last 3:24 in falling 82-74.

The Crusaders return to the road for the final time in the regular season, traveling to Grand Rapids for a 4pm tip at Cornerstone on Saturday (Feb. 13).

Contact: Patrick Moore (734) 432-5834