CHICAGO – The Roosevelt men's basketball team engaged in a tooth-and-nail affair with St. Ambrose in the Lakers' regular-season home finale at the Goodman Center on Wednesday night, and the Fighting Bees were able to pull away from the Lakers late to secure an 80-71 decision.

Bennett Fuzak tallied a team-high 15 points in his final home contest as a college player for the Lakers (7-22, 7-14 CCAC), while fellow senior Tariq Archibald handed out a team-best five asissts.

Prior to the game Roosevelt celebrated Senior Night and honored Archibald, Fuzak and manager Sullivan Tomich.

Rookies Josh Redic and Mark Johnson contributed 14 points apiece, with Johnson adding six rebounds and four dimes in one of his best outings this season.

Matt Myers added 12 points and six boards, while Andrew Veon pitched in 11 points on a perfect 5-for-5 evening from the floor.

Jake Meeske led all players with 20 points and seven assists for St. Ambrose (16-13, 12-9 CCAC), who trailed by as many as nine in the second half before using a 13-0 run in the final minutes of the game to turn a one-point deficit into a 12-point advantage that the hosts could not overcome.

Roosevelt trailed by as many as eight in the first half but stormed back and eventually took a three-point lead in the final seconds of the opening stanza before Meeske hit a game-tying three-pointer before the halftime horn.

The game continued to be a closely-contested affair before the Lakers created some space and led by as many as nine midway through the second half.

Roosevelt continued to hold the lead until Meeske hit back-to-back three-pointers that turned a six-point Roosevelt lead into a tie ballgame. SAU went up two just after that stretch, but the Lakers went back up by one after Veon's bucket amidst a foul for a three-point play.

That's when St. Ambrose when on its decisive late run, and Roosevelt cut the deficit down to seven following a Redic trey but could get no closer.

"We had pretty good energy, but the difference was their physicality all over the court, evidenced by the free throw disparity," Roosevelt head coach Joe Griffin said, referencing St. Ambrose's 26-7 advantage in charity stripe shots. "Bennett gave us a great boost after being out almost a third of the season, and we had a few guys show some flashes, but we were unable to put it all together. Mark Johnson had his best game as a collegian."

Roosevelt tangles with Trinity Christian to close the season this Saturday at 3 p.m. in Palos Heights.

Roosevelt honored seniors Tariq Archibald, Bennett Fuzak, Sullivan Tomich and their families before the St. Ambrose game.

(Photo: Danny Carlino)