Box Score / Box Score (PDF)
Springfield, Ill. - The Lewis University men's basketball team used a potent combination of good free throw shooting, a stifling defensive performance and controlled the glass, as the visiting Flyers led from start to finish in the 75-68 Great Lakes Valley Conference First Round victory over UIS at the TRAC on Sunday (Feb. 26) afternoon.
The Flyers converted 85.7% (24-for-28) of their free throw attempts, held UIS to 41 points in the first 33 minutes of the game and out-rebounded the Prairie Stars, 38-25, on the afternoon.
"It wasn't pretty, but we managed to get the job done," Lewis head men's basketball coach
Scott Trost said. "If we defend and rebound the ball well, it's going to give us a chance to win every game."
Lewis senior point guard
Chris McClellan (Buffalo Grove, Ill./Wheeling) (Buffalo Grove, Ill./Wheeling), topped four Flyer players in double-figures, with a game-high 19 points. Flyer junior guard
David Bryant (Batavia, Ill./Batavia) (Batavia, Ill./Batavia) collected a season-high 15 points, on 4-for-5 shooting, including a pair of three-pointers.
Freshmen
Ryan Jackson (Bolingbrook, Ill./Riverside-Brookfield) (Bolingbrook, Ill./Riverside-Brookfield) and
Julian Lewis (Flossmoor, Ill./Homewood-Flossmoor) (Flossmoor, Ill./Homewood-Floosmoor) combined for 14 and 11 points, respectively, while senior center
Marty Strus (Hickory Hills, Ill./Stagg) (Hickory Hills, Ill./Stagg) grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds.
With the victory, Lewis improves to 17-10 on the season and will await word on their opponent in their quarterfinal match-up, once the tournament has been reseeded. UIS finishes the season with a record of 15-13.
UIS senior guard Jermaine Love-Roberts collected a team-best 18 points for the Prairie Stars, followed by 17 points from senior guard Lester Hart. UIS junior guard Kyle Gupton came off the bench to score 11 points. Lewis did a solid job on one of UIS' leading scorers and rebounders, as senior forward Michael Fakuade was held to six points and four rebounds.
