Men's Basketball Gives Seventh-Ranked Indiana Wesleyan a Battle in 76-63 Loss

CHICAGO – The Roosevelt University men's basketball team kept pace with seventh-ranked Indiana Wesleyan until the late stages of the second half, as the Lakers fell to the Wildcats by a final of 76-63 inside the Goodman Center on Saturday, December 11. Roosevelt's overall record moved to 8-5 on the season.

The game was close in the opening moments, and after Indiana Wesleyan built an eight-point lead with a little more than four minutes remaining in the first half, the Lakers outscored the Wildcats 10-5 prior to the halftime horn after Anthony Martinez connected from downtown with 10 ticks on the clock. 

IWU jumped out to a nine-point lead early in the second half, but Roosevelt went on an 8-0 burst capped by a bucket from Eetu Villa that made it a one-point affair at the 16:07 mark.

The game stayed closed for the next 10-plus minutes, with Indiana Wesleyan clinging to a fragile advantage and Roosevelt making it a one-possession game on a number of occasions. 

With five and a half minutes left in regulation, IWU's Tim Adetukasi hit a three-pointer that spurred two subsequent Wildcat buckets, creating a double-digit lead for the guests.   

The Lakers would get within eight points late, but that is as close as it would get the rest of the way despite a valiant effort by the Green and White against a program that was the top overall seed in last year's NAIA Men's Basketball National Championship. 

GAME DETAILS

Score:   Indiana Wesleyan       32           44           76
                Roosevelt                      29           34           63

Records: Roosevelt 8-5 | Indiana Wesleyan 11-2

Location: Goodman Center | Chicago, Ill.

KEY STATS

• Eetu Villa led the Lakers with 15 points 
• Ayomide Ajiboye pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds to go with nine points, five assists and two steals
• Matt Myers added 12 points and a game-high six assists 
• Anthony Martinez scored eight points in 15 minutes off the bench
• Caleb Brown and Josh Redic each had seven points and a block 
• The Lakers shot 32.4% overall & 28.1% from three-point land
• The Wildcats claimed the rebounding advantage, 51-29
• Roosevelt caused 15 IWU turnovers
• Indiana Wesleyan had the advantage in points scored in the paint, 40-16 

NEWS & NOTES

• Saturday marked the first meeting between the two teams
• Click here to view the current CCAC Conference standings

NEXT UP

The Lakers take a break for final exams this week before returning to the court next Saturday, Dec. 18 against Lincoln (Ill.) for a Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference contest at the Lincoln Center in Lincoln, Ill. The game starts at 3 p.m.