Jan. 31, 2004

Box Score

ROMEOVILLE, Ill. - Lewis University's ferocious defense held Quincy to just 14 field goals and 35-percent shooting Saturday, and the Flyers beat the Hawks 62-38 in Great Lakes Valley Conference men's basketball action.

Lewis, ranked No. 15 nationally and No. 1 in the Great Lakes Region, improved to 18-2 overall and 12-1 in the GLVC. With seven games remaining, the Flyers own a commanding 3-game conference lead over Indianapolis and Southern Indiana, both losers on Saturday.

Senior guard Demitrius Hunter (Silvis, Ill./United Township) led all scorers with 13 points and reached another career milestone in the process. Hunter, who became Lewis' career assists leader in Thursday night's win over Missouri-St. Louis, passed the 1,000-point mark and now has 1,010 points in his four-year career.

Neither team scored until Lewis' Austin Real (Aurora, Ill./Aurora West) hit a 3-pointer at the 16:54 mark. Quincy's first bucket was a Cory Cummens layup with 15:04 to play.

From there, the Flyers used a 14-2 run to open a sizable advantage. Hunter began the spurt with a layup and ended it with a 3-pointer - the basket that vaulted him over the 1,000-point mark - and Lewis led 17-4 at 6:24 en route to a 27-13 halftime cushion.

Quincy (8-12, 4-9 GLVC) cut the Flyer lead to 10 points early in the second half but could draw no closer.

Hunter had four assists to go with his 13 points. Sidney Holmes (Chicago, Ill./Brother Rice) had 10 points and nine rebounds, Monta McGhee (Chicago, Ill./Robeson) had 10 points, five rebounds and four steals, and Randy Wright (Thomasboro, Ill./Rantoul) had a game-high five assists.

Jordan Roth led the Hawks, who were 0 of 11 from 3-point distance, with 10 points. Lewis held Quincy's leading scorer, Cummens (16.8 average), to six points.

Lewis shot 57.1 percent (12 of 21) in the second half and finished at 46.9 percent. The Flyers were 8 of 18 (44.4 percent) from 3-point range and 8 of 10 at the foul line and earned a 30-21 rebounding advantage.

Lewis is idle Thursday and hosts Wisconsin-Parkside Saturday at 3 p.m.