CHICAGO – Jake Ludwig led all scorers with 22 points and fellow St. Charles native Jake Asquini added 14 points, and the 20th-ranked Roosevelt men's basketball team defeated Cardinal Stritch, 74-54, in a quarterfinal contest to open the 2018 Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament at the Goodman Center on Wednesday.
Second-seeded Roosevelt (25-6) advances to host sixth-seeded Saint Xavier this in a semifinal this Friday, Feb. 23 at 7 p.m. inside the Goodman Center. SXU took both contests this past season, defeating the Lakers at the Shannon Center without Joshua Dillingham and at the Goodman Center with Roosevelt missing Ludwig.
Ludwig carried the load in the second half, tallying 17 points in the second half and scoring 10 straight at one point to help the Lakers build a big lead.
Stritch (15-16) would not go away, using interior buckets by Niko Travica (10 points) and Nemanja Knezevic (13 points) to stay within striking distance.
But the long-range shooting of Ludwig and Asquini, who combined for an 8-for-12 night beyond the arc, and a 35-18 advantage on the boards allowed the Lakers to stay ahead comfortably in the game's late stages.
"The first thing that really stood out to us was our outstanding home crowd tonight," Roosevelt head coach Joe Griffin said after his team's first postseason win and semifinal trip since 2014. "This team has turned itself into a special, memorable team, and we really enjoy providing a spark for our campus community. A big thanks from our team goes out to all who attended tonight.
"Jake was terrific after a slow first half and really found a zone in the second half, making some incredible plays," Griffin said of Ludwig. "We really wanted to hold on to the big lead, but to Stritch's credit, they pounded us inside and kept it within striking distance. Offensively we couldn't really contain them as we have other teams, but our offense really carried us tonight."
Griffin reflected on Roosevelt's accomplishments after Wednesday's win.
"It is rare that a college team can get to 25 wins, and we've done that," Griffin said. "We feel even stronger about our place in the national tournament as an at-large team, but the exciting thing is, we can still win this conference tournament title.
"I'm sure Friday will be an even better environment than tonight was."
Roosevelt faced Saint Xavier in the 2014 CCAC semis, falling to the Cougars.
This is a different year and a different team, and the Lakers have their sights set on a different outcome on Friday night when the Cougars come to the Lakers' Goodman Center with a trip to the CCAC title game on the line.
