Jan. 14, 2006

Box Score

ROMEOVILLE - Lewis held one of the Great Lakes Valley Conference's top scorers in check Saturday, but the Flyers were edged 58-56 by Wisconsin-Parkside at Neil Carey Arena.

The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for Lewis, which fell to 10-5 overall and 4-3 in the GLVC. Wisconsin-Parkside won for a sixth time in seven outings this season, and for a third consecutive time in the series, and improved to 11-4 and 4-3.

The Flyers limited Parkside's Kyle Clark, the GLVC's third-leading scorer at 18.2 points per game, to just seven points on 2-of-9 shooting.

Unfortunately for Lewis, Brad Ferstenou and Tyrone Deacon picked up the slack for the Rangers. Ferstenou collected 17 rebounds, most by a Lewis opponent this season, and added 16 points and game highs of five assists and three blocks, while Deacon tallied 18 points (four 3-pointers, 6-of-6 at the foul line) and four assists.

Dustin Warfield led the Flyers with 12 points, including 10 in the second half. Stephan Bolt had 11 points, a team-high eight rebounds and two blocks, Pat Monaghan scored 10 points and Branden Hunter distributed four assists.

Lewis sprinted to an 11-0 lead as Wisconsin-Parkside missed its first 10 shots, including five from beyond the arc. The Rangers didn't dent the scoreboard until Deacon hit a trey at the 13:11 mark.

The Flyers' biggest lead was 12 points, 18-6 with 11:24 to play, and they led 23-12 with 5:45 left in the first half on the strength of Bolt's nine points. But Parkside assembled a 10-2 run, including two Deacon 3-pointers, to end the half trailing just 25-22.

Another Deacon trey early in the second half tied it at 27 before Lewis embarked on an 8-0 spurt to regain command. Kendall Patterson, who tied his season high of eight points, nailed his second 3-pointer of the season and followed with a free throw and a driving layup. Warfield's bucket made it 35-27 Flyers with 14:46 left.

Parkside responded with a 12-4 run, which concluded with Ferstenou's offensive rebound and conventional 3-point play that knotted the score at 39.

Monaghan's 3-pointer gave Lewis its last lead, 44-43, at the 4:55 mark. Parkside regained the edge for good on its next possession when Brad Preston, who entered the game 0-of-11 from 3-point range, recorded his first trey of the season.

Ferstenou and Josh Skatrud followed with baskets to give Parkside a 50-44 advantage, and the Rangers led by six points twice more before the Flyers made a final push.

Warfield turned an offensive rebound into a conventional 3-point play with 24 seconds left, slicing the Parkside lead to 55-52. After Parkside's Dave Keane sank one of two free throws, Brandon Dagans' layup made it 56-54 with 12 seconds to play.

Deacon was fouled immediately and netted both free throws, then John Loeffelholz rebounded a missed 3-point try and scored to make it 58-56.

Lewis took a timeout to set up its defense for the ensuing inbounds play, and the strategy worked as Parkside was forced to call a timout. When play resumed, the Flyers earned a final chance by forcing Ferstenou to throw the ball out of bounds, but Dagans' final 3-point attempt was off the mark.

Ferstenou's rebounding performance led Parkside to a 43-34 advantage on the glass. Clark and Keane had seven and six rebounds, respectively, for the Rangers, while Monaghan and Loeffelholz grabbed five apiece for the Flyers.

The Rangers were a modest 11-of-15 at the foul line but held the Flyers to just 6-of-11 at the stripe. Parkside's 11 fouls were a season low by a Lewis opponent, and the Flyers' six free throws made and 11 attempts were their season lows in a conference game.

Lewis travels to Northern Kentucky on Thursday for a GLVC game beginning at 7:45 p.m. EST.