CHICAGO – Playing without leading scorer Jake Ludwig due to illness, the Roosevelt men's basketball team had its entire starting five reach double figures in scoring to pick up the slack and balance out a superb defensive effort in an 82-50 victory over visiting Olivet Nazarene at the Goodman Center on Saturday afternoon.
Joshua Dillingham continued to shine, posting a team-high 15 points and seven rebounds to go along with six assists, while Jake Asquini canned five three-pointers to match Dillingham's scoring output.
Adam Alexander also turned in a balanced performance with 11 points, a game-high eight rebounds, five assists and a game- and career-high seven steals, helping the Lakers (8-11, 4-6 CCAC) create a total of 18 takeaways and win their second consecutive game.
Jason Markus added 11 points and four assists as the starting point guard, while Korey Ryan tallied 11.
Tyler Crater led the Tigers (5-12, 3-6 CCAC) with a game-high 18 points.
In addition to its 16 steals and causing 18 ONU turnovers, Roosevelt held the Tigers to just 32 percent shooting for the game.
Meanwhile the Lakers' offense thrived, as Roosevelt shot 52 percent for the game and a strong 61 percent (19-for-31) in the second half. The Lakers had assists on 23 of their 30 baskets.
Nursing a one-point lead five minutes into the second half, Roosevelt started to create distance between itself and the guests when Markus made back-to-back layups, and the Lakers eventually broke the game open with a 17-0 burst that turned a five-point lead into an insurmountable advantage.
Roosevelt complemented its offensive flow with stifling defense in the second half, as the Lakers allowed the Tigers to score just 10 more points after ONU got within one in the early part of the period. The Lakers also held Nic Reed, who was leading the CCAC in scoring with 21.4 points per game, to just eight points on 3-of-7 shooting.
"For us to play at our highest level, it has to start with our defense, and today we were very good," Roosevelt head coach Joe Griffin said. "Our full-court pressure forced them into some uncharacteristic turnovers, and we were able to take them out of their offense in the half court. To hold their leading scorer to eight, to hold them to 32 percent shooting and to outrebound them by 10 [36-26] was the key. [Jason] Markus did a great job running the team, and it is always good to see all five of your starters score in double figures."
Griffin noted that this week's difficult slate of three games in five days against traditional CCAC powers Olivet Nazarene, Saint Xavier and Robert Morris Illinois was circled on the calendar prior to the season as a critical gauge for his team.
"Coming into the season we looked at this week as a pivotal one by playing three of the traditional heavyweights and former NAIA D1 schools, so for us to go 2-1 and almost going 3-0 by losing at Robert Morris in OT on Tuesday, we will take it and look to progress every day and every week."
Roosevelt will take on Judson in Elgin this Wednesday, Jan. 11 at 7:30 p.m.
