SOUTHFIELD, Mich. - Rochester Christian University used a dominant interior presence and timely late scoring to defeat Lawrence Tech University 72-64 in regular season action Wednesday morning at Don Ridler Fieldhouse.

The Blue Devils spent much of the second half chasing the game after Rochester Christian built a 29-21 halftime advantage and quickly pushed the margin to double digits after the break. Lawrence Tech matched RCU 43-43 in the second half and made several pushes to trim the deficit, but the visitors repeatedly answered inside and at the rim to keep control down the stretch.

RCU's early surge was fueled by frontcourt production and transition opportunities. James Fisher's fastbreak layup gave Rochester Christian a 14-7 lead at the 13:03 mark of the first half, and Tymias Williams followed with a dunk to make it 20-15 with 9:05 left. Lawrence Tech stayed within striking distance, but a late layup from Linden Holder in the final 1:10 of the half sent the Blue Devils into the locker room trailing 29-21.

Rochester Christian seized further momentum to open the second half. Tyler Allen scored on an early layup to extend the lead to 31-21, and Fisher converted again in the lane for a 36-23 margin with 16:35 remaining. From there, Lawrence Tech's offense began to find more rhythm on the perimeter, but each time the Blue Devils threatened, RCU answered with a key basket or second-chance opportunity, leveraging a 39-35 edge on the glass and nine offensive rebounds.

The decisive stretch came in the final six minutes. With Lawrence Tech working to cut a double-digit deficit into single digits, Holder knocked down a 3-pointer to push the lead to 62-50 with 5:20 left. After another Blue Devils push, Darnell Turner Jr. drilled a 3-pointer at the 3:15 mark to stretch the margin to 68-55. Lawrence Tech continued to battle and closed to within eight in the final minute, but Holder's layup with 57 seconds remaining effectively sealed the 72-64 result.

Despite the loss, the Blue Devils received strong individual performances. Vuk Zarubica posted a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds, knocking down 3 of 4 attempts from beyond the arc and adding three assists to pace the Lawrence Tech attack. Lake McIntosh matched him with 16 points of his own, shooting 7-for-13 from the field and connecting on two 3-pointers while contributing a pair of assists.

As a team, Lawrence Tech finished 25-for-66 (37.9%) from the field and 9-for-33 (27.3%) from 3-point range. Rochester Christian countered with a more interior-focused attack, going 25-for-63 (39.7%) overall while earning a decisive advantage at the free-throw line, converting 19 of 25 attempts to the Blue Devils' 5 of 8. That combination of paint scoring, rebounding and free throws ultimately proved the difference, ending Lawrence Tech's postseason run despite a balanced effort in the closing half.