CHICAGO – Jake Ludwig made the go-ahead bucket on a driving layup he scooped in with 14.3 seconds left in regulation, and the Roosevelt men's basketball team withstood visiting Olivet Nazarene's comeback attempt to edge the Tigers, 75-74, inside the Goodman Center on Tuesday night.
Grant Gibson scored a team-high 19 points while Adam Alexander added 14 points for the Lakers, who matched a school record for best start to a season by improving to 7-0. The Lakers are now 2-0 in CCAC play.
Nic Reed led all scorers with 28 points for the Tigers (2-6, 0-3 CCAC).
Roosevelt was firing on all cylinders early, going up by as many as 15 points and carrying that momentum into the second half to maintain a double-digit lead.
Olivet stormed back, eventually taking a five-point lead late in the second half.
The Lakers stayed calm and true to form by forcing ONU into turning the ball over, and eventually Roosevelt reclaimed the lead on a Ludwig jumper with 48.5 left.
Reed responded with a hoop and harm on the other end, hitting the free throw to make it a 74-73 ONU lead with 28 ticks left.
Ludwig, who tallied 10 points while handing out five assists despite foul trouble, made his final bucket the most important as he drove into the lane and scooped up a tremendous lay-in off glass and through the tin to put the Lakers up one.
The Tigers inbounded the ball for one final shot, but Dane Schlafley's three missed the mark as Roosevelt held on to stay undefeated.
"Give Olivet a lot of credit for storming back and taking the lead when we were up big early," Roosevelt head coach Joe Griffin said. "They did what they do, which is pound the ball inside, and we simply didn't have enough size down there to withstand them. Reed was great.
"Our poise down the stretch was really impressive," Griffin continued. "Our maturity is starting to take shape now with a lot of our key players being juniors now, and it really showed tonight. We could've folded when we gave up the lead, but we got enough stops and Lud hit a great go-ahead shot at the end after not having his best game. We got great contributions from the whole bench, and Grant Gibson really gave us a boost tonight."
Roosevelt takes part in the St. Francis Thanksgiving Classic this weekend in Joliet, beginning on Saturday against Lyon at 6 p.m.
