Roosevelt (9-10, 6-5 Portland Interscholastic League) took another step forward Thursday, finding the right mix of poise and playmaking to travel into Lincoln (11-9, 6-6) and defeat the Cardinals 62-50.

“Very resilient group,” first-year Roosevelt coach Michael Lee said. “I think the key is composure. A lot of times early on we were finding ways to give the game back. I tell them all the time it’s a game of runs. How do you withstand runs and continue to do what we know we can do?”

Lincoln had chances to catch Roosevelt, but the Cardinals’ press floundered in the fourth.

“Missed a lot of shots,” first-year Lincoln coach Pat Adelman said. “We had the game close. I think just missed a lot of open shots and defensively we rotated very poorly. We were trying to trap and put some pressure on them. We had some success with that in the first half. The backside of the press was just not very good.”

Taishawn Fontleroy, Jean Pierre Mategeko and Isaiah Harris combined for 33 points to lead the Roughriders. However, it was backup point guard Antonio Beltran (nine points) that might have stepped up the most, Lee thought.

“We had some guys step up big time,” Lee said. “Antonio Beltran was huge for us tonight. Came up huge for us tonight.”

Roosevelt appears to have forged a new identity under Lee. The chaotic, error-prone ways of the Roughriders just a year ago look to be gone. In its place is a selfless, composed brand of basketball. Lee said he wasn’t quite sure how the Roughriders had transformed over the past year.

“I believe, my father has always told me, even as a player, he would always say continue to teach,” Lee said. “All it is is teaching. To me it’s like parenting. When your child mess up, you just correct them. They might not get it right away, but over time they will figure it out.

“I think that’s what’s starting to happen right now. That’s what it’s been -- a lot of talking, a lot of correcting. And they’ve been receptive to it. It hasn’t been easy, to be quite honest. But it’s showing up lately, I suppose.”

Roosevelt has a three-game winning streak, the longest of the season for the Roughriders, with wins over Jefferson, Madison – which defeated Grant on Thursday – and now Lincoln.

The Cardinals were led by Bryce Sloan’s 11 points.