CHICAGO – The Roosevelt men's basketball team staged a furious late second-half rally down 19 to visiting East-West (Ill.) with five minutes left to make it a two-possession game in the final minute, but the Lakers were unable to complete the comeback against the Phantoms in a 79-74 loss at the Goodman Center on Monday night.
Rookies Lucas Jordan and Josh Redic paced the Lakers (1-8) with 16 points apiece, while second-year standout Matt Myers had a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds along with a furious one-handed dunk to spur Roosevelt's rally.
Brian Kern added 12 points.
The banged-up Lakers were without many key players due to injury heading into the game, and RU played without leading scorer Bennett Fuzak during the second half due to a fall he suffered as he was fouled on a bucket attempt.
Brandon Daughtry led all players with 27 points for the Phantoms (5-8), who opened the second-half on a 21-2 run that turned Roosevelt's five-point halftime advantage into a 14-point lead for East-West.
EWU went up by as many as 20 with about eight minutes remaining in regulation and held a 19-point lead in the half's final quarter when Roosevelt when on its run.
Sparked by their defensive pressure, the Lakers went on an 18-4 burst capped by a Jordan trey that made it 72-67 with 1:13 left.
Roosevelt had a chance to cut it down to three moments later after Myers stole the ball from Kenneth King and was fouled by Daughtry, but two free throws were missed, and Daughtry hit two on the other end to make it a seven-point affair with 23 ticks on the clock.
The Lakers got it down to four after Jordan's fourth trifecta of the evening, but only a few seconds remained and Roosevelt ran out of time.
"I give East-West a lot of credit for coming in here strong, and flat-out smashing us in the second half," Roosevelt head coach Joe Griffin said. "They played together and it is their best team that they've had in their short history. Daughtry is an outstanding offensive player.
"As for us, we obviously have a long way to go, so we're excited to get some more practices under our belts after Thanksgiving and get ready for another tough stretch in December," Griffin continued. "Our lack of rebounding and turnovers makes it very hard to win, so we'll get back at it in a few days."
Roosevelt gets a break until Dec. 4 when the Lakers tangle with Governors State in University Park at 7 p.m.
