CHICAGO – Tariq Archibald made the game-winning layup with 17.4 seconds left in regulation, and Matt Myers sealed the deal with an emphatic block on Calumet St. Joseph's go-ahead bucket attempt in the contest's final moments to help the Roosevelt men's basketball team complete a furious comeback from a 19-point deficit and defeat the Crimson Wave, 56-55, inside the Goodman Center on Wednesday.
Brian Kern led all players with a career-high 22 points, shooting 8-of-10 from the floor in quite the efficient offensive display while pulling down a team-high seven rebounds, while Myers tallied 16 points and made the defensive stop of the night for the Lakers (7-16, 7-8 CCAC).
Germaine Roebuck led the Wave (6-16, 5-11 CCAC) with 17 points.
CCSJ jumped out to a 27-8 advantage in the first half, but Roosevelt chipped away and entered intermission down just six.
Fueled by a stingier defensive effort that forced Cal St. Joe to shoot just 8-of-36 in the second half, the Lakers rallied back from a second-half deficit as large as 13 to eventually take a slim lead with 4:26 on the clock after Kern knocked down a trey. Lucas Jordan then followed with a three of his own to put Roosevelt up four.
Eventually CCSJ reclaimed the lead in the final minute-plus on Chris Seaton's three, and Roosevelt recovered from a turnover to force a Seaton miss from downtown after Jordan blocked his try as the shot clock expired to get the ball back with 30 ticks left.
That set the stage for Archibald, who gathered the inbounds pass, drove right and sped past his defender to send up a kiss off the glass that gave Roosevelt a one-point lead with 17.4 seconds remaining.
The Crimson Wave held the ball for the final shot, but Core'Von Lott's driving attempt was swatted away by Myers, who ran down the ball and sprinted down the sideline to allow time to expire and give the Lakers what had seemed at various points as an improbable victory.
"That was one of the more exciting, memorable wins that we've had in a while, especially when Cal took the 19-point lead," Roosevelt head coach Joe Griffin said after the rally win. "I loved our resolve and our defense was outstanding the whole night, holding them to 22 percent shooting in the second half. It would have been even better if we could have rebounded, but they extended too many plays because we couldn't come down with it.
"Kern was great again, and Ben Storm really gave us a spark after not having played since November," Griffin continued. "Myers' block at the end was an awesome play.
"This game could've gone either way and we are fortunate to come out on top."
Roosevelt takes on Judson in Elgin this Saturday afternoon.
Matt Myers goes up for the game-saving block to preserve Roosevelt's one-point lead and the eventual win.
(Photo: Danny Carlino)
