CHICAGO – Max Hisatake piled up 34 points and 17 rebounds and Illinois Institute of Technology fended off Lakeland University's second half comeback and defeated the Muskies 71-67 Saturday afternoon in Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference play.

The Scarlet Hawks answered every Lakeland challenge in the game's final ten minutes and gained a split of the teams' regular season series. Illinois Tech avenged a 73-67 loss to the Muskies less than a month earlier and sent Lakeland (6-7 overall, 4-4 NACC) to its third straight loss in January.

Hisatake was a load for the Muskies in both halves. The 6-foot-7 senior forward scored 21 points with six rebounds in the first half, then added 13 points plus 11 boards in the second half. He finished making 14 of 29 shots from the field, 5 of 12 from the foul line and also added five assists and two blocked shots.

Hisatake's teammate Ahmad Muhammad also came up big for the Scarlet Hawks (5-8 overall, 3-5 NACC), especially in the second half. Muhammad scored 11 of his 14 points in the final 20 minutes and twice hit big shots after Lakeland had closed within a possession. He drained a three-pointer after to make it 61-57 with 7 minutes, 27 seconds left after the Muskies had crawled within one, then hit a jumper with 5:46 left to put IIT back ahead 63-58.

Lakeland played from behind virtually the entire game, as Illinois Tech scored the game's first five points and led for 38:50 of the contest. The Muskies led only for 43 seconds in the game, coming in the first half when Isaac Anderson (Sr.-Linden, Wis.) hit a three-pointer for a 25-24 lead.

Lakeland trailed 38-29 at halftime and by as much as 12 early in the second half but fought back and on five different occasions in the final 10 minutes hit a basket to get within one possession. The last time came after Zach Hasenstein (Jr.-Sheboygan, Wis.) hit a three-pointer with 1:16 left to make it 70-67, but the Muskies missed a chance to tie in the final 20 seconds and Hisatake split two free throws with 14 seconds left for the final margin.

The Muskies were outrebounded 45-30 but also took advantage of 15 Illinois Tech turnovers and finished with a 19-5 advantage in points off turnovers. Lakeland also posted a 20-0 advantage in bench points.

Carlos Campos (Sr.-Janesville, Wis.) scored 15 points and Jequan Pegeese (Jr.-Beloit, Wis.) added 12 points plus a career-high nine assists. Eddie Burnett (So.-Chicago, Ill.) also scored nine points.

Lakeland is back on the road again Wednesday when it faces Edgewood College at 7 p.m. in Madison.