CHICAGO – Only trailing for 15 seconds, the MSOE men's basketball team dominated down in the Windy City to defeat Illinois Tech to open 2026. Four Raiders found themselves with double-digit figures, including Mason Dopirak who recorded his eighth career double-double.

FINAL SCORE
MSOE RAIDERS – 86

Illinois Tech - 69

HOW IT HAPPENED

• MSOE (6-6, 4-1 NACC) built a lead instantly, opening on a 9-0 run capped by a layup from Carson Cordelli just three minutes in. Illinois Tech (4-8, 2-3 NACC) immediately answered, going on a 9-0 run of their own before taking an 11-9 lead. Mason Dopirak erased that deficit immediately with a three before hitting a jumper with 7:05 remaining in the first half to lead 22-15. The Scarlet Hawks brought it down to one with 3:29 to go but the Raiders didn't let them get ahead, holding a 35-31 lead at the break.
• The Raiders opened the second half on a 6-0 run as a layup from Ethan Johnson gave the Raiders a double-digit advantage 41-31. The Scarlet Hawks brought it down to within seven with 13:31 to play, but a jumper from Dopirak made the game double-digits consistently at 60-49 with 8:08 left on the clock. With the game sitting between a 12-13 point lead, the Raiders completely put the game away, going on a 6-0 run to lead by 20 with under a minute to play.

MSOE STAT TRACKER
Points – Mason Dopirak (27)
Rebounds – Mason Dopirak (12)
Assists – Carson Cordelli (4)
Steals – Chase Cummings (2)
Blocks – Ethan Johnson & Isaac Wit (1)

WHO'S ON DECK
The Raiders will see action next week on Wednesday, January 7^th when they travel to Dominican University. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m.

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