Feb. 5, 2005

Box Score

ROMEOVILLE - Randy Wright scored 18 points, including four 3-pointers, and Lewis beat Southern Illinois Edwardsville at its own game in a 69-62 Flyer upset of the nation's 11th-ranked NCAA Division II team and Great Lakes Valley Conference co-leader Saturday at Neil Carey Arena.

The victory lifted Lewis (9-12, 4-10 Great Lakes Valley Conference), a winner in three of its last four games, to eighth place in the conference standings. With sixth-place Kentucky Wesleyan ineligible for this year's GLVC Tournament, the Flyers occupy the seventh spot in the eight-team tournament picture with six games to play.

SIUE, rated No. 3 in the Great Lakes Region, fell to 18-5 and 11-3.

SIUE came in ranked third in scoring defense in Division II, allowing an average of 60.2 points per game. But it was Lewis that turned in the better defensive effort, yielding its lowest point total of the season in a GLVC game.

Wright, who scored a career-high 23 points in the Flyers' 79-68 loss at SIUE in November, was 6 of 8 overall and 4 of 5 from 3-point range. He was joined in double figures by Anthony Scala (12) and Pat Monaghan (11), who also contributed three steals.

Steve Turner grabbed a game-high seven rebounds and scored nine points, DeAndre Williams tallied a game-high seven assists and Dustin Warfield collected five rebounds for Lewis, which earned a 27-23 edge on the boards.

Wright hit 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to give the Flyers a 16-10 lead with 11:20 to play in the first half. SIUE's Anthony Jones responded with two straight treys of his own to spark the Cougars to a 16-6 run that gave the visitors a 26-22 edge with 4:25 left.

Lewis finished the half strong, however, limiting SIUE to just a free throw the rest of the way. Meanwhile, baskets by Monaghan and Turner and a Scala 3-pointer gave the Flyers a 29-27 halftime lead.

The Flyers continued what would be a 14-1 spurt by scoring the first seven points of the second half, as Monaghan netted a layup and a 3-pointer followed by two Warfield free throws for a 36-27 Lewis margin at the 17:36 mark.

After SIUE closed the gap to six points, Wright sparked Lewis to its largest cushion of the game. He again sank consecutive 3-pointers to ignite an 11-4 run that gave the Flyers a 51-38 lead with 11:01 left.

SIUE managed to slice the Lewis advantage to 62-57 with 1:57 left, and the Cougars had a chance to draw closer. But Monaghan hit a jumper in the lane with just under a minute left following an SIUE offensive foul, and the Flyers held on from there.

SIUE came in shooting 50 percent from the floor - good for 13th in the nation - and shot exactly that with a 24-of-48 effort. But the Flyers were superior at the foul line, converting 19 of 22 to SIUE's 9 of 19.

The Cougars' J.B. Jones led all scorers with 22 points and added five assists. Dan Heimos recorded 14 points and six rebounds, and Anthony Jones scored 11 points.

The Flyers hit the road next week, facing Missouri-St. Louis on Thursday (7:30 p.m.) and the new GLVC leader, Southern Indiana, on Saturday (3:15 p.m.).