CHICAGO – Roosevelt men's basketball senior student-athletes Kevin Priebe, Pete Mroz and Max Bisesi were honored prior to the Lakers' game against CCAC rival Saint Xavier on Saturday, with the Goodman Center packed with people celebrating the contributions of the trio.

Unfortunately for Roosevelt, those three couldn't see their team clinch a crucial conference win as Saint Xavier pulled away in the second half, 85-59.

Rookie guard Jake Ludwig tallied 15 points to pace the Lakers (11-16, 7-12 CCAC), who struggled from the field by hitting just 33.3 percent (21-for-63).

Dominique Jeter led all scorers and four players in double figures for the Cougars (17-10, 14-4 CCAC) with 20 points off the bench. Jeter made six of eight attempts from downtown.

The game was a gritty battle early, and the Cougars nursed a slim lead until going up double digits late in the first.

The Lakers would not go away, getting within eight right before the break and cutting their deficit down to four midway through the second half. Priebe aided that comeback effort with a three that cut it to four and, moments later, an assist to Joshua Dillingham to get the Cougars' lead back down to two baskets.

But Saint Xavier went on a 9-0 burst, and shortly after a Ludwig bucket it was another 7-0 run that put the Cougars up in the 20-point range.

Roosevelt's difficulty connecting from the field combined with Saint Xavier's strong showing from three-point range (13-for-23) and advantage on the glass (43-31) proved too much for the Lakers to overcome.

"Saint X, like TIU last Saturday, played great," said Roosevelt head coach Joe Griffin. "But we didn't do much to stop them. Their offensive rebounds in the first half were embarrassing, as they got 58 percent of their misses back. It was amazing we were only down eight.

"I thought we were going to make a comeback when we cut the lead to four in the second half, but they hit seemingly every shot, and the 13 threes that they made broke our backs," Griffin continued. "We were most worried about their post-ups, but the threes hurt the most. We were cold all night and never really got going on offense, even though we got great looks.

"We need to finish strong against Judson in what may be our final game of the season Wednesday."

The Lakers cap the regular season on the road against Judson this Wednesday night, Feb. 17 in Elgin. Roosevelt must win and get some help in order to qualify for the CCAC Tournament.