Balanced Effort Propels Lakers Past Crusaders

LIVONIA, Mich. – Roosevelt had five players score in double figures, including a pair of double-doubles, as it cruised to an 83-66 win over Madonna on Saturday in Livonia, Mich.

Julio Montes II led the way for the Lakers (3-0) with 18 points and was named the MVP of the Bernie Holowicki Classic. Sangolay Njie completed his double-double against the Crusaders with 12 points and 11 rebounds, and was also named to the all-tournament team. Cody Mitchell had the other Roosevelt double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds while Maurice Commander chipped in 14 points and Forte Prater had 10.

The Lakers again did an excellent job taking care of the ball with just seven turnovers while making 55 percent of their shots from the field, including 15 of 30 from behind the arc. On the other end of the floor, Roosevelt held Madonna to just 9 of 33 shooting in the first half and 3 of 19 3-point shooting in the game.

For the second day in a row, the Lakers' only deficit came in the early moments of the game as the Crusaders went on a 5-0 run to take a 5-4 lead. A minute later, Montes hit a 3-pointer to give the Lakers the lead for good. Roosevelt truly pulled away in the middle of the first half with a critical 13-3 run that gave the Lakers a comfortable 15-point advantage. The Lakers then closed the half on a 7-1 run to take a 20-point lead to the locker room.

Commander came on strong in the second half to help the Lakers keep the Crusaders at bay in their home arena. The Chicago native scored 10 points on 4 of 6 shooting in the final 20 minutes while Montes added seven points to help preserve the lead.

Roosevelt returns home next Sunday for a 2 p.m. tipoff against East-West at the Goodman Center.