JOLIET, Ill. – The Roosevelt men's basketball team entered intermission tied with the nation's second-ranked team and stood within six points of undefeated St. Francis (Ill.) with a little less than eight minutes remaining in the second half, but the Lakers saw the Saints go a perfect 27-for-27 at the free throw line and pull away late in a 91-73 loss at the Sullivan Center on Saturday.
Korey Ryan canned three 3-pointers to lead the Lakers (4-7, 2-4 CCAC) with 15 points, while Jake Ludwig added 11.
Ilya Ilyayev led all scorers with 21 points for the Saints (10-0, 5-0 CCAC), who shot 53 percent from the field to go along with their perfect afternoon from the charity stripe.
Undaunted in the face of competing against the No. 2 team in the country on its home court, Roosevelt shot 52 percent from the floor in the first half and saw Ryan connect on three of the Lakers' five treys as the teams traded the lead 10 times in the opening 20 minutes.
The Lakers led by as many as four and, after USF went up four late in the first, Kevin Priebe and Jason Markus scored on back-to-back layups, including Markus' bucket to beat the halftime horn and knot the game at 38-38.
St. Francis went up eight in the second period's beginning stages, but the Lakers fought back to get within two. The Saints again tried to pull away after going up 10 at the half's midway point, but Roosevelt continued to show resilience and get within two possession moments later after Ludwig's fast-break layup and a subsequent successful jumper sank by Zack Harris.
The hosts proceeded to go on a 9-1 run, and Roosevelt got no closer than 12 the rest of the way as the Saints ran away late.
"We played a very good 31 minutes, and then St. Francis did what great teams do and built an insurmountable lead," said Roosevelt head coach Joe Griffin. "They were great and at their best in the second half. Seeing them hit 27 straight at the stripe really cut it for them.
"We played better today than we did versus Stritch [on Thursday], so we have to carry this progress into Grand View."
Roosevelt heads to Des Moines, Iowa to face Grand View at 6 p.m.
