Bruins drop tight affair to Roosevelt

CHICAGO, Ill. -- The (RV) Roosevelt University Lakers closed to game on an 8-0 run to complete a 20-point comeback and shock the #14 Bellevue University men's basketball team, 63-59, on Friday evening on day one of the RU Classic at the Goodman Center.

Records:

#14 Bellevue: 3-5
(RV) Roosevelt: 3-3

Recap: Roosevelt 63, Bellevue 59

Bellevue led by as many as 20 points late in the first half but a terrific second half shooting performance from Roosevelt saw the Lakers out-score the Bruins by a 44-28 margin to steal a 4-point win.

Jake Ludwig scored 24 of his game-high 32 points in the second half to lead the Laker comeback. He combined with Kyle Bumbalough – who recorded all 12 of his points after halftime – to score 36 of Roosevelt's 44 points in the period.

With 2:55 to play in the first half Richard Reed sank a pair of free throws to give Bellevue a 31-11 lead.

Grant Gibson's layup on the ensuing possession kick-started an 8-0 Roosevelt run to end the half as the Lakers cut the Bruin lead to just 31-19 at the break. He and Ludwig scored four points apiece during the stretch.

The Bruins did well to keep Roosevelt at arm's length throughout the early portion of the second half, even re-establishing a 16-point lead on a Josh Meier dunk with 17:34 to play.

BU kept the lead in double digits until the 7:18 mark when Ludwig sank a three to make the score 49-40.

A pair of Sequan Walker free throws put Bellevue up by nine, 53-44, with 5:51 remaining but a Ludwig trey followed by three free throws from Ludwig in a span of just 30 seconds brought the Lakers to within one possession, 53-50.

Ludwig drained trifectas on consecutive possessions with 1:13 and 0:27 to play to give Roosevelt their first lead of the game, 61-59. Ludwig scored the game's final eight points.

The Bruins were led by a trio of players in double figures. Meier poured in a team-high 15 points while Richard Reed and Justin Bessard dropped in 13 apiece.

BU shot a season-low 17.6 percent (3-of-17) from three in the loss while the Lakers were 9-of-25 (36.0 percent) from long-range.

Rebounding was pretty even with the home side holding a 32-30 edge. Bessard and Roosevelt's Bennett Fuzak shared high-rebounding honors with nine each.

Bellevue won the turnover battle, committing just 12 to RU's 18.

Up Next:

Bellevue meets the University St. Francis (3-0) tomorrow for a 3 p.m. tip to close out the RU Classic.