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St. Charles, Mo. - The Lewis University men's basketball team earned its first trip to the Great Lakes Valley Conference Semifinals for the first time since 2008, as the Flyers, led by five players in double-figures, picked up the 92-89 overtime victory over the University of Indianapolis in a GLVC Quarterfinal match-up at Family Arena on Friday (March 4) afternoon.

Lewis sophomore forward Max Strus (Hickory Hills, Ill./Stagg) posted a game-high 25 points, including six rebounds, five assists, three steals and a block. He scored his 1,000th career point in a Lewis uniform in the first half.

Junior guard Miles Simelton (Oswego, Ill./Oswego) notched 18 points, five of which came in overtime, on 7-for-14 shooting, while Flyer freshman guard Delaney Blaylock (Wyoming, Mich./Godwin Heights) scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half and grabbed six boards. Lewis freshman center Frank Vukaj (Davison, Mich./Davison) had 14 points and nine rebounds, while senior forward Kyle Nelson (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles North) added 12 points and eight rebounds in the victory.

As a team, Lewis shot 49.2% (30-for-61) from the floor and drained 69.2% (27-for-39) of its free throw attempts. They did a solid job defensively on the Greyhounds, as UIndy shot just 40.3% (27-for-67) from the field

With the win, Lewis improves to 22-8 on the season and advances to the GLVC Semifinals against top-seeded Bellarmine on Saturday (6 PM). Indianapolis falls to 20-7 on the campaign.

UIndy senior guard Jordan Loyd led five Greyhounds in double-figures with 20 points, while classmate Joe Retic finished with 19 points, five rebounds and five assists.

Greyhound senior forward Tyler Rambo finished with 15 points, while senior guard Lucas Barker (5 assists) and sophomore guard Eric Davidson finished with 12 points apiece. UIndy's Ernest Maize grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.

UIndy jumped out to an early 15-4 lead over the Flyers in the first half. The Greyhounds maintained that advantage until Blaylock converted a lay-up at the 15:30 mark of the second half to push Lewis ahead, 43-42.

That lead was short lived, as UIndy went on an 11-3 run over the next 4:19 to take a 53-46 advantage over the Flyers with 13:11 remaining in the game.

Lewis responded with a 9-0 run, led by five points from Strus, to give the Flyers a 55-53 lead that they would not relinquish until the closing seconds of regulation.

The Flyers extended that lead to 76-70 with 2:24 left on the clock following a Strus free throw. UIndy cut the lead in half on the ensuing possession, as Retic drained a three-pointer with 2:13 remaining to bring the Greyhounds to within three at 76-73.

Both teams would trade possessions, before Strus fouled out of the game attempting to snag an offensive rebound with 1:02 left in the contest. Barker drew the foul and hit both of his free throws to cut Lewis' lead to 76-75.

Simelton was able to draw a foul on the other end and brought Lewis' lead back up to three at 78-75 by hitting both charity shots with 52 seconds left. Retic was able to get Vukaj out of the game with his fifth foul and hit both of his free throws to bring UIndy back to 78-77 with 38 seconds remaining.

Simelton missed a lay-up with 32 seconds left and Loyd grabbed the defensive rebounds for UIndy. Retic responded with the go-ahead lay-up with 19 ticks remaining, giving UIndy the lead back at 79-78.

Simeton drew another foul, but split his free throws, tying the game up at 79-all with eight seconds left. The Greyhounds had a chance at victory at the buzzer, but Loyd's attempt went array and forced overtime.

Lewis opened the overtime on an 11-6 run, led by five points from Simelton and built a 90-85 lead with 54 seconds left in the extra session.

UIndy cut that lead to 90-89 on a pair of lay-ups by Davidson and Rambo. Rambo, however, was whistled for a technical foul following his lay-up as he swatted the ball out of Nelson's hand who was trying to inbound it with 12 seconds left.

Nelson hit the charity shot to increase Lewis' lead to 91-89. The Greyhounds fouled junior guard Capel Henshaw (Harrisburg, Ill./Harrisburg) and the Harrisburg, Ill., native split his free throws with five seconds left and a 92-89 Flyer lead.

UIndy had one more chance to tie the game, but Davidson's three-point attempt at the buzzer missed, securing the win for the Flyers.