Jan. 15, 2004

ROMEOVILLE, Ill. - Great Lakes Valley Conference leader Lewis turned in a season-best performance at the foul line against Saint Joseph's Thursday night, hitting 19 of 21 free throws for a sparkling 90.5 percent.

As it turned out, the Flyers needed just about every free throw they made in a hard-fought 83-78 victory over the Pumas, a team they demolished 104-73 in December.

Lewis (14-1, 8-0 GLVC) remained in the GLVC driver's seat with its 13th successive win. The Flyers tied the school record for consecutive victories established by the 1985-86 team and set a school mark of eight straight conference wins in one season.

The GLVC game of the year happens Saturday at Neil Carey Arena as Lewis, ranked 14th in this week's NCAA Division II national poll, hosts 7th-ranked Indianapolis (15-1, 8-1 GLVC), a 70-56 winner over Southern Illinois Edwardsville Thursday night. The winner most likely will be No. 1 in the Great Lakes Region when the season's first region rankings come out next week.

The Flyers seemingly had the game in hand when Steve Turner (Peoria, Ill./Richwoods)'s 3-pointer gave them a 78-68 lead with 3:25 left.

But the Pumas (7-8, 3-5 GLVC), winners in five of their last six following a 2-6 start, refused to fold. Corey Seegers, the league's leading scorer who led all players with 24 points, made a layup and two free throws, and Brandon Turner added a layup to cut the Lewis margin to 78-74 at the 1:30 mark.

Things got even tighter for the Flyers moments later. After Demitrius Hunter (Silvis, Ill./United Township) sank two free throws to make it 80-74 with :44 left, Seegers was fouled while nailing a 3-pointer from the top of the key. He converted the 4-point play, and it was 80-78 Lewis with :27 left.

Hunter made the first of two free throws on the Flyers' next possession, and his miss on the second shot was rebounded by Saint Joseph's guard Jamie Holden, who pushed the ball up the floor quickly.

Instead of trying to create a chance for a 3-point shot, Holden passed inside to Seegers, who missed a layup. Monta McGhee (Chicago, Ill./Robeson) rebounded, was fouled and made both free throws with :07 left to secure the win.

The Flyers raced to a 38-23 lead with an 18-6 outburst that began at the 10:22 mark of the first half and ended with 3:59 remaining. Austin Real (Aurora, Ill./Aurora West) scored all seven of his first-half points during the flurry.

Setting the tone for its second-half comebacks, Saint Joseph's outscored Lewis 13-6 - including the last five points of the half -- to go to the locker room within striking distance at 44-36.

The Pumas continued their surge after the break and trailed by just two after scoring the first six points of the second half, but Lewis responded with a 23-11 run to forge their largest lead of the second half, 67-53, with 9:00 left.

Saint Joseph's received new life again, this time courtesy of Greg Muller. On three consecutive possessions, Muller converted a three-shot foul and drained a pair of 3-pointers to cut the Lewis lead to 67-62 at 6:53.

Hunter topped the Lewis scoring chart with 18 points and was followed by Turner (16), McGhee (15) and Real (14). McGhee (9 of 10), Turner (6 of 6) and Hunter (4 of 5) were the only Flyers who shot free throws.

Real moved into 14th place on Lewis' career scoring list with 1,250 points.

Sidney Holmes (Chicago, Ill./Brother Rice) grabbed a Lewis season-high 13 rebounds, one shy of tying his career best, and added eight points, three steals and two blocked shots. Randy Wright (Thomasboro, Ill./Rantoul) collected nine points and tied his career best of six assists, and McGhee tallied six rebounds and five assists.

Muller scored 14 points for Saint Joseph's, while Holden and Brandon Turner netted 10 apiece. Seegers and Derek Fey had eight rebounds apiece to lead the Pumas to a 37-30 advantage on the boards. Holden had eight assists and Fey had five assists and three blocked shots.

SJC outshot Lewis 50.9 percent to 42.4 percent overall and also was outstanding at the foul line (16 of 21, 76.2 percent). The Flyers countered by making eight 3-point shots to the Pumas' four and by committing just nine turnovers, their second consecutive single-digit turnover game and fourth of the season.

The victory gave the Flyers an 8-0 home record this season, a 22-1 home record since the beginning of last season and a 34-4 home mark since the beginning of the 2001-02 season.