CHICAGO – Offense proved to be an endangered species inside the Goodman Center on Saturday as Roosevelt and Cardinal Stritch, two of the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference's top three scoring defensive teams, tangled and showcased their respective arsenals of stifling pressure.
Unfortunately for the Lakers, the visiting Wolves were able to generate just a little bit more point production on the scoreboard as Roosevelt suffered a 59-54 loss for the first home defeat of 2017-18 for the Green and White.
Jake Ludwig led the Lakers (10-3, 3-3 CCAC) with 15 points and nine rebounds, followed by Adam Alexander's 11 points and 10 tallied by Carson Hughes.
Nemanja Knezevic led all scorers with 16 points for the Wolves (7-6, 3-1 CCAC), who clawed by the Lakers by forcing Roosevelt to shoot just 24 percent (5-for-21) in the second half.
Roosevelt did its part on defense, keeping the Wolves to just a 35 percent clip while forcing seven turnovers after intermission, to stay in the game as Stritch clung to a slim advantage in the second half.
Despite the shooting difficulties in the final stanza after a 56-percent first period, Roosevelt trailed by just one in the final minute and had three chances to take the lead but turned the ball over in each of those possessions.
Trailing by three with 10 seconds left in regulation, the Lakers had one last gasp to tie, but Ludwig's three from the top of the arc bounced off the rim. Stritch got possession with four seconds left and Knezevic sank two free throws to put the game out of the Lakers' reach.
"That was a very defensive-oriented game and we didn't hit enough shots to prevail," Roosevelt head coach Joe Griffin said. "This was one of our coldest shooting games of the year. Defensively we did a lot of positive things by getting steals and deflections, and we got some good looks on offense, but we couldn't capitalize.
"We'll get through exams this week and rest up and get ready for another tough conference road game in a week."
The Lakers take the next week off from competition for final exams and will be back in action next Saturday at Trinity Christian.
