Montes, Lakers Close Out Trojans For Third Straight Win

CHICAGO – Freshman Julio Montes II took over the game for Roosevelt in the final four minutes to propel the Lakers to a 79-72 win over Trinity International on Saturday afternoon in a Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference matchup at the Goodman Center.

With the Lakers (4-3, 3-1 CCAC) trailing 62-60 with four minutes left, Montes drilled a 3-pointer to put Roosevelt ahead to begin his dominance over the game. Three minutes later, with the Lakers clinging to a one-point advantage, he calmly stepped back and splashed a second 3-pointer, giving the Lakers a lead they never came close to relinquishing. He also hit all six of his free throws down the stretch as he scored 12 of his game-high 26 points in the final four minutes.

Although Montes did score 10 points in the first half, the opening 20 minutes belonged to Ayo Ajiboye in the paint. The Trojans did not have an answer for the graduate student as he scored 17 of his 20 points in the first half. He connected on seven of his nine shots from the floor in the first half, including burying an open 3-pointer, and also grabbed five rebounds and came up with a pair of steals. Ajiboye finished with 20 points and three blocks while battling foul trouble for most of the second half.

The entire Lakers team seem to come alive in the second half, though, in Ajiboye's absence with Jared Bohrer and Matt Myers making important contributions. Myers scored all 12 of his points in the second half and Bohrer scored eight of his 11 points over the final 20 minutes. Both shooters knocked down critical 3-pointers for the Lakers in the second half, starting with Bohrer nailing a 3-pointer from the corner with 5:54 left to give the Lakers their first lead of the second half. Then Myers followed Montes' first triple with a 3 of his own to extend the lead to four with just over three minutes left.

After Montes gave Roosevelt the lead with a little less than four minutes left, the Lakers hit all 10 of their free throws, including all eight over the final 63 seconds. The Lakers shot 50 percent from the field in the second half, including 7 of 14 from behind the arc, and most importantly made 14 of 16 free throws in the final 20 minutes.

The Lakers return to the court on Tuesday evening against St. Francis in Joliet for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff.