Lakers Grind Past Fighting Saints

CHICAGO – Roosevelt showcased yet another way to win Wednesday night with a grinding 55-51 victory over St. Francis at the Goodman Center to remain atop the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference.

Nothing about the wire-to-wire was easy for the Lakers (17-7, 14-2 CCAC) as the Fighting Saints forced them into scrapping for every point. The game featured no lead changes or ties after Maurice Commander opened the scoring with a fastbreak layup off a Julio Montes II steal, but the Lakers also never pulled away at any point. Roosevelt's largest lead was an 11-point advantage early in the second half, but St. Francis scored the next six points and the Lakers never led by more than seven again.

The pressure was on the Lakers in the final five minutes of the second half to protect their slim lead, and Roosevelt's veterans responded with clutch plays in the right moments. After the Fighting Saints trimmed the lead to one point with 46 seconds left, Commander left no doubt with a pair of free throws to increase the lead. Yuri Swinford then never sweated a pair of free throws after a St. Francis miss to push the advantage to five. Then after a Fighting Saints 3-pointer, Swinford ended the game with two more free throws with two seconds left.

Commander led the way for the Lakers with 16 points, but he was one of many Roosevelt shooters who did not get kind rolls from the home rims. The Lakers made just 5 of 20 from long range, bringing their overall shooting percentage down to 41.2 percent for the game. Yet Roosevelt also made sure St. Francis struggled with the deep ball, holding the Fighting Saints to just 2 of 22 from behind the arc and just 39.6 percent in the game.

The Lakers did finish with three scorers in double figures with Swinford scoring 11 and Shane Stevensen scoring a critical 14 points off the bench. With scoring a premium, it put even more pressure on the team stats and Roosevelt received big contributions from everyone. Chima Nwosu tied with Swinford for the team lead with seven rebounds, one more than Ayo Ajiboye secured in one of his best performances of the season. Commander and Swinford both also dished out four assists, trailing the five Montes handed out.

Wednesday's win also guaranteed the Lakers a home game in the quarterfinals of the CCAC Tournament on Feb. 21 at the Goodman Center. Ticketing information for that matchup will be available at a later date.

Roosevelt returns to the floor Saturday in Deerfield when it faces Trinity International at 3 p.m. in an attempt to complete the season sweep.