Feb. 19, 2004

Box Score

ROMEOVILLE, Ill. - Lewis was hanging on for dear life in the waning moments of Thursday night's Great Lakes Valley Conference clash against Kentucky Wesleyan at a raucous Neil Carey Arena.

The visiting Panthers whittled a big Flyer lead down to just two points with 2:29 left and had a final possession with a chance to tie in the closing seconds.

But when Bobby Zuerner's desperation 3-point attempt sailed wide, 20th-ranked Lewis had taken one more step toward a GLVC title with an 81-78 triumph.

The victory lifted the Flyers to 20-4 overall and 14-3 in the GLVC, one game ahead of Southern Indiana. USI, which visits Romeoville Saturday afternoon, beat Southern Illinois Edwardsville 75-70.

The 20-win season is the Flyers' third in succession and fourth in the past six seasons.

Lewis would clinch a tie for its first conference crown in 16 seasons by beating Southern Indiana Saturday in a game that tips off at 3 p.m. The Flyers visit Quincy and SIU Edwardsville next week to close the regular season.

A win over USI also would improve the Flyers' hold on the No. 1 Great Lakes Region ranking. Southern Indiana is No. 2 in the region.

Kentucky Wesleyan, which brought the GLVC's longest current winning streak (six) into the contest, made its first five shots and owned a 14-8 lead with 15:34 to play in the first half.

But the Panthers (16-7, 11-6 GLVC) made just two of 14 shots and committed eight turnovers the rest of the half courtesy of Lewis' trademark stifling defense.

Meanwhile, the Flyer offense was hitting on all cylinders. On the strength of 63-percent shooting, including a 4-of-8 effort from 3-point range, and an 18-8 rebounding edge, Lewis built its lead to 17 points before settling for a 38-23 halftime lead.

After a 13-6 KWC run cut the Lewis margin to 44-36 at the 15:48 mark, the Flyers gradually began to pull away again. When Anthony Scala buried a long 3-point bomb with 10:56 remaining, Lewis led 62-46.

Wesleyan scored the next seven points, but Monta McGhee (Chicago, Ill./Robeson)'s 3-pointer and short jumper put the Flyers up 67-53 at the 7:13 mark.

Back came KWC. The Panthers scored the next eight points on free throws, then made it 67-64 Lewis on Dewayne Rogers' 3-pointer with 3:40 left.

It was 69-64 when McGhee, who scored a game-high 27 points - many of them on acrobatic moves - fouled out on Franklyn Ferguson's layup. Ferguson converted the 3-point play, and the Flyers lead was a scant two points with 2:29 remaining.

Steve Turner made perhaps the biggest basket of the night on Lewis' next possession. Turner's 3-pointer, part of a 20-point performance, gave the Flyers a 72-67 lead and spurred them to a seemingly safe 77-69 advantage with just under a minute left.

Wesleyan refused to fold, however, and made it 79-76 with :27 left. Turner's two free throws two seconds later made it 81-76.

Following a timeout, Zuerner was fouled on a 3-point attempt. He made two of the three to make it a one-possession game.

Lewis left the door open by missing two free throws with :12 to play. Rogers missed a driving layup, but KWC retained possession when the rebound was knocked out of bounds with :03 left.

The inbounds pass came to Zuerner, whose game-tying attempt was off the mark.

McGhee, who was 10 of 15 from the floor, added eight rebounds. Sidney Holmes scored 13 points and led all players with 11 rebounds, as Lewis earned a 37-27 edge on the glass. Scala made three 3-pointers and finished with 11 points.

Five Kentucky Wesleyan players scored in double figures - Eric Freeman (16), Ferguson (15), Zuerner (14), Craig Schoen (12) and LaTroy Farrow (12). The Panthers were 10 of 17 (58.8 percent) from 3-point range and outscored the Flyers 24-14 at the foul line (24 of 32 for KWC, 14 of 28 for Lewis).

Kentucky Wesleyan's Dontae Truitt, the league's leading scorer (20.3 ppg), missed the game because of a hairline fracture in his foot.