CHICAGO – Brandon Beckman came through in the clutch to lead the University of Chicago men's basketball team to a dramatic 65-63 win over Illinois Institute of Technology on Saturday afternoon.

The Maroons improved to 4-2 while the Scarlet Hawks fell to 1-5.

The visitors made things interesting at the end of regulation by nearly erasing a nine-point deficit. Illinois Tech went on an 8-0 streak to pull within one at 61-60 with just over a minute remaining. Beckman then drove the lane and was fouled with 37 seconds left. The senior point guard proceeded to convert both free throws on a one-and-one to put the Maroons up three.

However, the Scarlet Hawks immediately struck back by swishing a trey from the left corner to tie the score at 63-63. Once again, Beckman had the ball in his hands as the seconds ticked down. He drove the lane and finished a contested layup off the glass to make it 65-63 with five seconds remaining.

Illinois Tech had one last chance, but a driving layup missed at the buzzer to give UChicago the two-point victory.

At the start of the game, four-straight buckets on four trips down the floor by the Maroons gave them a 12-6 lead. Illinois Tech answered back with eight points in-a-row to make it 14-12. An and-one opportunity from Beckman put UChicago back in control at 27-22.

At the halftime break, the hosts were up 31-26. Junior Bryce Hopkins and Beckman contributed nine points each in the first half.

Two layups from senior Zach Munson sandwiched around a Hopkins jumper gave UChicago its largest lead of the game at 37-26. The second half also featured a career-high 10 points by junior Alec Bryan, who provided an offensive boost off the bench.

The advantage stood at 61-52 with just under five minutes left when Illinois Tech began to make its move, ultimately leading to Beckman's heroics.

In the final box score, Hopkins paced the scoring effort with 15 points while grabbing four rebounds. Beckman posted 13 points, five rebounds and four assists. Munson and Bryan concluded with 10 points apiece.

UChicago shot 48.3 percent from the field, 20 percent from three-point range (3-15) and 85.7 percent from the line (6-7). Illinois Tech shot 44.6 percent from the field, 29.4 percent from long range (5-17) and 72.7 percent on free throws (8-11).

The visiting Scarlet Hawks won the rebounding battle 33-28. The two teams combined for only 16 turnovers.

NEXT GAME:

• Wednesday, Dec. 1 @ 7:00 PM – UChicago at Illinois Wesleyan University