UNIVERSITY PARK, Ill. – The Roosevelt men's basketball concluded a post-Thanksgiving four-game road stretch against Governors State at The ARC on Saturday, and the Lakers were not helped by turnovers and the Jaguars' frequent trips to the free throw line in an 85-75 loss.
Jake Ludwig led four Lakers in double figures with 13 points, adding eight assists and seven rebounds, while Jake Asquini scored 11 and Adam Alexander complemented an eight-rebound effort with 10 points that matched Grant Gibson's offensive output.
The Lakers dropped to 9-2 overall and 2-2 in CCAC play after its second straight loss following a school-record 9-0 start.
Governors State (7-5, 5-0 CCAC) had three players scored 19 points each in Jalen Miller, Robbie Brooks and David Anderson.
Roosevelt committed 18 turnovers that led to 25 GSU points.
The Jaguars also went to the charity stripe 32 times, scoring 29 points from the line.
The Lakers trailed for most of the game but battled back from a double-digit deficit to eventually take a one-point lead after a three knocked down by Kevin Day around the 15-minute mark of the second half.
Day followed that up with a jumper to give the guests their largest lead of the afternoon at three points.
Roosevelt couldn't add on to that advantage, as GSU hung around and eventually reclaimed the lead for good on Anderson's bucket with 7:25 on the clock to begin an 11-0 run by the Jaguars.
Governors State kept the Lakers at arm's length by shooting 16 free throws in the final 90 seconds of regulation, connecting on 15 of those shots, and Roosevelt couldn't get the buckets and turnovers needed to rally back.
"We did not respond today after the OT loss at Saint Xavier," Roosevelt head coach Joe Griffin said of the Lakers' performance on Saturday after one-point loss to the Cougars on Wednesday night. "I thought we'd have more energy today, but we were a little flat and it showed in our turnovers and our second-half defense. Governors State has very good talent and their best players Anderson, Brooks and Miller took it to us. We can't win by giving up 85 points and 18 turnovers on the road.
"Hopefully Wednesday we play to our potential and capabilities."
Roosevelt returns home this Wednesday, Dec. 6 to host rival Robert Morris Illinois at the Goodman Center at 7:30 p.m.
