SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The Roosevelt men's basketball team roared back from a 27-point deficit to get within one of host Indiana South Bend with 12 seconds left in regulation, but Kyle Bumbalough missed a game-tying three-point try at the buzzer as the Lakers fell to the Titans, 79-76, on Saturday.
Bumbalough scored 15 of his team- and career-high 20 points in the second half to key the huge comeback for the Lakers (4-6, 2-3 CCAC), who lost their fifth game in a row.
Korey Ryan added 16 points, Jake Ludwig scored 14 points, Carson Hughes tallied 12 off the bench and Adam Alexander pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds while helping lead the Lakers' massive comeback in the second half.
Jeremy Jones led all scorers with 23 points for the Titans (7-4, 2-2 CCAC), who shot 63 percent (10-for-16) from three-point territory in the first half. Roosevelt made just four of 24 shots from the field during that span to make life even more difficult for Joe Griffin's squad, and the Titans constructed a 44-18 advantage heading into halftime.
A seemingly-insurmountable deficit on the road did not deter the Lakers. Paced for the second straight game by Bumbalough's will and second-half offense, the Lakers chipped away with a combination of much-better shooting (19-for-38 in the second half) along with a more aggressive approach that resulted in 16 free throws.
Roosevelt's defense helped cool down the Titans' long-range shot, as the hosts made just three of their 16 attempts from beyond the arc after the break.
That new second-half mix helped get the Lakers to within single digits of the Titans in the final four minutes, and Roosevelt trailed by just two with 87 seconds left.
The Titans made their late free throws, going 6-for-6 in that span, including two by T.J. Benner following a big three-point play by Ludwig that had reduced Roosevelt's deficit down to one with 12 ticks left.
Roosevelt had the ball after the Benner free throws with eight seconds on the clock, and just like the Lakers' furious comeback that fell just short against Trinity International on Wednesday, the ball got into the hands of the hot hand of Bumbalough with a chance for a last-second shot.
But the second-year floor general's valiant tying trey try missed as the final horn sounded.
"Can't really say this one hurt because we played so poorly in first half," Griffin said. "That was as bad a half as we've had here that I can remember. We had little to no toughness and not much pride. [Jason] Markus rallied the team together and we had an entertaining comeback spurred by Adam and four reserves, who gave us great energy. Adam was tough as heck with 12 boards."
Roosevelt has the week off of game competition until the Lakers return to the Goodman Center to host 18th-ranked St. Francis (Ill.) next Saturday, Dec. 10 at 3 p.m.
