ARLINGTON HEIGHTS – Roosevelt put together its best defensive performance since transitioning to NCAA Division II in a 48-14 throttling of Wayne State on Saturday in the home finale at Morris Field.

The Lakers defense bounced back from a rough first five weeks in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference action with a dominant performance against the Warriors. Wayne State had just 75 yards at halftime and didn't score until late in the third quarter. Roosevelt tied a program record with five interceptions in the contest and scored twice on defensive for the first time in program history.

In the first half, Keron Pryor intercepted two passes for the first picks of the season for the Lakers defense. His first was a tiptoe catch along the sideline in the end zone to prevent the Warriors from capitalizing on a Roosevelt turnover. Later in the second quarter, Pryor was on the receiving end of an overthrown pass and dove for the interception.

Roosevelt scored 10 points off those two takeaways, but the defense didn't let the offense get in on the fun to start the third quarter. Carlos Conley read the quarterback and stepped in front of a pass for a 45-yard pick-six on the fifth play of the second half. Two drives later, the Warriors quarterback threw a pass that looked more intended for Brandon Harvey than any Wayne State receiver, and the junior linebacker returned it 31 yards for a score.

Conley, who also had five tackles and was credited with a pass breakup on Pryor's first interception, added a second pick in the fourth quarter. Once again, the Wayne State quarterback overthrew his intended receiver, and Conley caught the pass and returned it 29 yards to midfield.

The two defensive scores simply added juice to an already exuberant Roosevelt sideline after the Lakers dominated the opening half. Roosevelt drove 82 yards in nine plays on the opening drive of the game, finishing it with a 21-yard screen pass to Cam Davis for the touchdown.

After trading interceptions, the Lakers doubled their lead when Tony Chahino found Jack Young Jr. open over the middle and the senior tight end dragged a slew of Warriors defenders into the end zone for a 43-yard score. Chahino connected with Norion Espadron for a 50-yard deep ball to set up the 8-yard screen to Norbert Espadron, who ran through a gigantic hole untouched for the score.

Krys Riley-Richardson had the other offensive touchdown for the Lakers with a 5-yard run in the middle of the fourth quarter. Mauricio Escudero kicked a pair of short field goals and converted all six extra points to complete Roosevelt's scoring.

Chahino didn't break any passing records Saturday, but he did eclipse 300 yards for the third time in his four career starts. His 302 yards make him the first Roosevelt quarterback to throw for 300-plus yards in consecutive games, and much of that yardage came from the Lakers receivers racking up the yards after the catch. Roosevelt used the screen pass quite a bit because it was working like a charm as an extension of the team's running game.

Norbert Espadron led the Lakers with seven catches and collected 80 yards but his brother, Norion, had four catches for 91 yards to lead the team. Davis caught five passes out of the backfield and Michael Prokos had four receptions as well.

KJ Hayes picked up his third sack of the season and Angelo Arnold recorded his first as the Lakers heaped pressure on the Warriors backfield. Roosevelt had five total tackles for loss in the game and held Wayne State to just 3.2 yards per rush in the game.

UP NEXT: Roosevelt ends the season next Saturday with its first ever trip to Grand Valley State with kickoff scheduled for noon in Allendale, Mich.