CHICAGO – Senior guards Grant Gibson and Jake Ludwig combined for 45 points, and the Roosevelt men's basketball team pulled away for an 85-72 victory over Madonna (Mich.) to close out the 2018 Roosevelt New Year's Classic at the Goodman Center on Sunday evening.
Gibson made a career-high six three-pointers en route to a game-high 24 points, while Ludwig made 12-of-12 attempts from the free throw line to tally 21 points for the Lakers (10-6).
Bennett Fuzak added 12 points, eight rebounds and two blocks in his second straight strong all-around game.
Dwight Burton led three players in double figures with 21 points for the Crusaders (11-6).
The Lakers began the game on fire from downtown. After Madonna made the game's first two buckets from behind the arc, Roosevelt responded with four consecutive three-point connections to ignite a 10-for-18 first-half showing from long range. Gibson made four of his five first-half trey attempts.
The Lakers' last three-pointer of the opening period came when Andre Hughes heaved a shot from beyond half court that he banked in to beat the buzzer and give Roosevelt a 15-point lead heading into halftime.
Gibson opened the second half as Hughes had closed it, making a trifecta shot that gave Roosevelt its largest lead of the game, an 18-point advantage.
Madonna chipped away and closed the gap, making it a six-point affair midway through the second half.
As the game tightened up, Roosevelt quickly stood firm and pushed its lead back into double figures, keeping the Green and White advantage in double-digit territory for almost all of the game's last nine minutes.
Roosevelt played without injured starter Chandler Fuzak.
"I love the way we bounced back after a tough loss yesterday," Roosevelt head coach Joe Griffin said after his team's rebound from a loss to Indiana Kokomo on Saturday. "Playing without Chandler gave us opportunities for other guys to step up, and Andre and Matt Myers played solid off the bench. Our energy and tenacity were very good. Grant was red hot and Jake iced the game from the line as he is so good at doing. Our first-half defense gave us a great lead and we were able to hold off a very talented team.
"Non-league is over and our test only gets tougher against St. Francis in CCAC play."
In the Classic's other game on the final day of play, Indiana Kokomo held off St. Francis (Ill.), 67-64.
Roosevelt tangles with St. Francis at the Sullivan Center in Joliet on Wednesday, Jan. 2 at a special start time of 3 p.m.
