Madonna Wins Men's Basketball Tournament

FORT WAYNE, Ind. - (TOURNAMENT PAGE) - Third-seeded Madonna took care of unfinished business by winning the 2023 Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) Tournament title with a 96-83 victory against top-seeded Indiana Tech. The Crusaders lost in the championship game last season and were on a mission in this year's title game, their third overall (2013, 2020). It's only the third time a No. 3 seed has won the tournament.

As tournament champion, Madonna (24-7) takes the league's second automatic berth to the NAIA Open Round March 7-8 on campus sites. Indiana Tech (27-4) claimed the first automatic berth as regular-season champion and will host an Opening Round.

Madonna jumped early and led by as many as 16 with just under five minutes remaining in the first half, but Indiana Tech scored 10 of the half's last 14 points to close the gap to eight heading into the break. Grant Smith opened the second half with a jumper for the Warriors, but Madonna quickly expanded its lead to 18 with a 14-2 run capped off with back-to-back threes from Mark Mettie and Brendan Young.

After trading baskets, Madonna got another spark and pushed the lead to 22 twice before the six-minute mark. The Warriors got as close as 11 a few times and found themselves down by 10 with 56 seconds left, but Madonna hit three of four free throws down the stretch.

Madonna's defense kept the Warriors out of sync all game. As for the Crusader offense, they shot a blistering 54.8% from the field and were 45% from behind the arc. Young led all scorers with 23 while Mettie followed with 22 and Henry Speight had 21, going 8-for-8 from the free throw line in the second half. Devin Dun was the fourth Crusader in double digits with 13 points. Young also grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.

Josh Kline led Indiana Tech with 20 points and seven rebounds. Cory McKinney added 15 points and handed out five assists. Blake Davison and Grans Smith chipped in 14 and 12 points, respectively.

All-Time (Seed) Tournament Champions

1993-94: (1) Siena Heights
1994-95: (4) Spring Arbor
1995-96: Siena Heights
1996-97: (1) Siena Heights
1997-98: Siena Heights
1998-99: (1) Cornerstone
1999-2000: (2) Siena Heights
2000-01: (2) Cornerstone
2001-02: (2) Cornerstone
2002-03: (1) Siena Heights
2003-04: (2) Cornerstone
2004-05: (2) Indiana Tech
2005-06: (2) Cornerstone
2006-07: (2) Aquinas
2007-08: (2) Indiana Tech
2008-09: (1) Aquinas
2009-10: (1) Cornerstone
2010-11: (1) Cornerstone
2011-12: (1) Davenport
2012-13: (2) Madonna
2013-14: (1) Cornerstone
2014-15: (3) Cornerstone
2015-16: (1) Davenport
2016-17: (1) Cornerstone
2017-18: (4) UM-Dearborn
2018-19: (3) Indiana Tech
2019-20: (2) Madonna
2020-21: (2) Indiana Tech
2021-22: (4) Lourdes
2022-23: (3) Madonna