SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – A strong second half was not enough for Roosevelt in its season-opening 93-76 loss to Illinois Springfield on Saturday evening in Springfield.

The Lakers (0-1) trailed by 17 points at halftime but came out in the second half and scored 49 points on 18 of 37 shooting. However, the Prairie Stars were able to match Roosevelt step for step and their lead never dipped below 12 in the second half.

Enari Thomas started his Roosevelt career with a team-best 18 points while shooting 8 of 14 from the floor. Forte Prater scored 17 points and dished out four assists while Griffin Yaklich tied Prater for the team lead with four assists to go along with his 11 points. Ramean Hinton recorded a double-double in his Lakers debut with 13 points and a team-high 11 rebounds and Daniel Reed rounded out the fivesome in double figures with 10 points.

Roosevelt trailed 11-2 just four minutes into the game, which set the tone for the Lakers' first contest in Division II. The deficit swelled to double digits within seven minutes, but by the midway point of the first half, the Lakers had clawed back to within one. Thomas had eight of Roosevelt's first 15 points and scored 10 points total in the first half.

UIS went on a 10-0 run after the Lakers cut the lead to 16-15 and Roosevelt didn't cut the deficit to less than eight the rest of the game.

UP NEXT: Roosevelt will look to bounce back Saturday at 2 p.m. against Upper Iowa in Springfield.