Lakers Rain Triples On Tigers To Finish Season Sweep

CHICAGO – Roosevelt's pinpoint shooting from behind the arc lifted the 14^th-ranked Lakers to an 85-78 win over Olivet Nazarene on Wednesday evening in a Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference contest at the Goodman Center.

The Lakers (18-3, 12-1) connected on 12 of their first 16 attempts from behind the arc, taking full advantage of any space they could manage. Julio Montes II drained six 3-pointers himself on just eight shots from behind the arc and David Swedura made his first four attempts from 3 before missing in the final minutes. The duo finished shooting 10 of 13 from long range to punish the Tigers defensive miscues.

As a team, Roosevelt made nearly 59 percent of its shots in the game, including 60 percent from 3-point range. The Lakers were actually slightly better in the second half, shooting 59.3 percent from the field over the final 20 minutes after making 58 percent from the floor in the first half. Roosevelt was also more successful at running the Tigers off the 3-point line, holding Olivet Nazarene to 3 of 10 from behind the arc in the second half.

Once Forte Prater hit a jumper a little more than a minute into the game, the Lakers' offensive prowess was on full display. Montes drove the lane for his first points of the evening on Roosevelt's next possession, and that was followed by 3-pointers from Montes and Sangolay Njie on the next two trips down the floor. Roosevelt made 6 of 9 from long range in the first half, notably Montes' 3-pointer with five minutes left that put the Lakers ahead for good.

Montes finished with 32 points for his second 30-point game of the season, and marking the second time in program history Roosevelt has had a 30-point scorer in consecutive games. Montes scored 17 points in the first half on 7 of 10 shooting then made 4 of 6 from the field and all four free throws in the second half to add another 15.

Roosevelt's other two scorers in double figures were the two guys they brough toff the bench in the game, Swedura and Shane Stevensen. Swedura finished with 14 points, knocking down clutch shot after clutch shot from behind the arc. He nailed one 3-pointer late in the first half to put the Lakers up by two possessions then capped off a 16-4 run in the middle of the second half with another triple. Stevensen scored 11 points and grabbed four boards while adding three blocks to aid in the effort.

The Lakers hit the road Saturday to face Trinity Christian at 3 p.m. in Palos Heights as Roosevelt tries to maintain its two-game edge atop the CCAC standings.