Box Score DEERFIELD, Ill. - A 17-point second half comeback was not enough on Saturday as the TIU Men's Basketball team suffered an 82-80 loss to Roosevelt University inside the Van Dixhorn Arena.

Jeremy Carlyle led the Trojans offensively on Saturday, finishing with 22 points, with 17 of them coming in the second half.

After a poor shooting performance their last time out, the Trojans shooting woes continued in the opening half on Saturday as TIU would connect on just 29% of their shots in the opening frame. TIU could not buy a bucket in the early going, eventually trailing 41-33 at the break.

The Lakers would pick right up where the left off in the first half, opening the second frame with a 13-4 run to take a 17 point lead. After a Trinity timeout the Trojans showed their grit and toughness and began fighting their way back into the game.

The Trojans slowly chipped away at the deficit in the final 15 minutes. With 7:30 remaining Jeremy Carlyle knocked down back-to-back buckets, including a long three pointer to cut the deficit to one. Just as the Trojans grabbed momentum the Lakers rattled off 6 straight points to stretch their lead back out to 72-65.

After both sides traded baskets down the stretch the Trojans again found themselves down, this time by four, but a Carlyle basket followed by and O'Shae Williams tip in tied the game 80-80 with 55 seconds left. 

Two late free throws from the Lakers made it an 82-80 game with the Trojans having enough time for one last possession. Carlyle drove the right side of the lane but had his shot blocked with just a few seconds left, handing the Trojans their second conference defeat of the week.

"Sometimes God's plan for your life takes you down a different route then you thought, and it's difficult in the moment," said Head Coach Boomer Roberts. "We're choosing to trust his plan for us, because he's a faithful father."

"Our guys made a heck of a comeback against the hottest team in the conference, but we couldn't finish it, credit Roosevelt for their resilience," added Roberts. "This is going to be a fun story by the tie it's all said and done, we just have to keep scrapping and competing."

The Trojans are back in action on Wednesday when they travel to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to take on Cardinal Stritch University at 7:30 PM.