JOLIET, Ill. – A lackluster start to the game ultimately came back to hurt Roosevelt on Friday in its 85-72 loss to No. 2 Thomas More in the second game of the St. Francis Fighting Saints New Year's Classic in Joliet.

The Lakers (10-6) surrendered the first 15 points of the game and missed their first 10 shots against the second-ranked Saints. Yuri Swinford broke the shutout with a layup 8:20 into the game, and that one basket seemed to relieve the tension for Roosevelt, which cut the lead to as few as seven later in the first half. The Lakers were 10 of 13 from the floor over the final 11:40 of the first half to keep the Saints within striking distance at halftime.

Unfortunately for Roosevelt, it was unable to make its signature second-half run despite shooting nearly 55 percent from the field over the final 20 minutes. The Lakers were able to trim the 10-point halftime deficit into single digits on a handful of occasions, but could not string together enough stops to close the gap further. Julio Montes II scored 13 of his team-high 23 points in the second half while Swinford finished with 18 total points, 10 of which came in the second half.

It was a much cleaner effort from the Lakers on offense than Thursday's defeat as Roosevelt committed just eight turnovers and shot 50 percent from the field, including 8 of 20 from deep, on Friday. However, the Saints were able to get their shots to fall as well, shooting better than 58 percent from the floor and a staggering 10 of 17 from long range. Offensive rebounds were few for both sides, but Thomas More did finish with a 34-23 edge on the glass despite Roosevelt outscoring it 34-28 in the paint.

The good news for the Lakers is they have everything to play for as they enter the New Year atop the CCAC with a 7-1 conference mark. Roosevelt's perch at the top of the standings will be challenged Wednesday when the Lakers visit South Bend, Ind. to face co-conference leader Indiana-South Bend for a 6:30 p.m. tipoff, the start of a stretch of three road games in four contests over the first two weeks of 2023.