Nov. 17, 2004

Box Score

ROMEOVILLE - Brian Hyser (Belvidere, Ill./Belvidere)'s free throw with 0.5 seconds left Wednesday night capped an incredible Lewis comeback and gave the Flyers a dramatic 69-68 men's basketball victory over crosstown rival St. Francis at Neil Carey Arena.

With the score tied at 68, Hyser intercepted a Brandon Krug pass just past mid-court, drove strongly to the basket and was fouled by Krug. The red-shirt freshman converted the first of two free throws and intentionally missed the second, forcing USF to heave an unsuccessful court-long desperation shot at the buzzer.

Anthony Scala, whose game-high 21 points were one short of his career high, was the key offensive player in the late Lewis surge. Scala buried three of his five 3-point baskets in the final 2:11, and his two free throws knotted the game at 68 with 0:21 to play.

Neither team reached the 40-percent shooting mark in the first half, but the Flyers (1-0) used a 13-of-16 effort at the foul line, two 3-pointers each by Scala and Pat Monaghan and 12 St. Francis turnovers to build a 39-28 halftime lead. Scala and Monaghan scored 10 points apiece in the opening period.

USF (3-3) charged back after the break. The Saints made 12 of their first 14 second-half shots, claimed their first lead of the game (48-47) with 11:37 to play and went on to establish a 64-52 cushion at the 3:11 mark.

John Loeffelholz made a free throw on Lewis' next possession, followed by a Monaghan steal and DeAndre Williams (Chicago, Ill./St. Francis de Sales)' layup that sliced the USF lead to single digits, 64-55, at 2:35.

After Scala's trey at 2:11 made it 64-58, USF got a free throw and a layup from Jon Womack for a 67-58 advantage with 1:14 remaining. Womack was fouled on the play but missed the free throw following a Lewis timeout.

That's when the Flyer comeback kicked into a higher gear.

Steve Turner was fouled in the scramble for the rebound of Womack's miss and netted both free throws. USF then threw the ball away, one of its 24 turnovers, and Scala made the Saints pay with a 3-pointer that cut the USF lead to 67-63 with 0:51 left.

Although Scala failed to convert the 4-point play after being fouled on the shot, he quickly redeemed himself. Following Womack's free throw that made it 68-63 USF, Scala nailed his final 3-pointer of the game with an assist from Williams and evened the score at the foul line following a Williams steal, setting the stage for Hyser's game-winning play.

Turner scored 14 points (8-of-10 at the foul line) and grabbed a team-high and career-high eight rebounds. Williams finished with a game-high and career-high seven assists, four rebounds and three steals (tying his career best), and Monaghan added a game-high four steals and four rebounds to his 10 points.

USF got 16 points, a game-high 13 rebounds and four assists from Womack, 12 points and 11 rebounds from Kevin Howard, and 15 points and five assists from Eric Epps.

The Flyers host North Park Saturday at 7:30 p.m.