MERRILLVILLE | As Roosevelt senior guard Stephen Jenkins held the ball for the final shot in the third quarter, he showboated a bit by acting as if he were picking his teeth.

Some of the Andrean fans didn't appreciate Jenkins' gesture, but it was understandable that he needed to clean his molars. After all Jenkins, had just taken a huge bite out of the 59ers' momentum.

Jenkins scored 14 of his game-high 22 points in the third quarter to help the visiting Panthers capture a 67-61 nonconference victory over the 59ers in the season opener for both teams Monday at Andrean High School. Roosevelt's fourth consecutive win over Andrean spoiled the debut for first-year 59ers coach Carson Cunningham.

"In the first half, I had three fouls so I didn't know what to do," said Jenkins, who went 8-of-10 from the free-throw line. "I only had two points, so I thought my team needed my help. I just came out with more intensity and more heart in the second half."

After Roosevelt junior guard Michael Walker, who finished with 10 points, had a steal and a layup to tie the score with 3:59 left in the second quarter, Andrean answered with a 10-3 run to close the first half. Junior center Pete Nicksic had 10 of his 15 points in the second quarter to help the 59ers build a 36-29 halftime lead.

But Jenkins took over and helped the Panthers earn a five-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.

"He caught fire," Roosevelt coach Larry McKissack said. "He hit a couple 3-pointers, and he drove to the basket pretty good."

The 59ers, however, would not lose in their new coach's first game without a fight. Senior forward Ryan Wojcik (15 points) made a layup on an assist from junior guard John Morgan (10 points) to give Andrean a 56-55 lead with 3:27 left.

Junior center Lionel Moore (six points, eight rebounds) then countered with consecutive field goals to give Roosevelt the lead for good.

"You've got to give Roosevelt credit," Cunningham said. "They hit big shots. We've got to get better at coaching. There's a lot of things that we can work on as coaches to help these guys with execution."