Feb. 28, 2004

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - The Lewis University men's basketball team did about all it could to win in Saturday's Great Lakes Valley Conference regular-season finale against Southern Illinois Edwardsville.

The Flyers shot .554 (31 of 56) from the field, made 10 of 14 free throws for a solid .714 mark, and committed only 13 turnovers. That's good enough for a "W" in a typical game.

Unfortunately for Lewis, this game was far from typical for SIUE.

The Cougars burned the nets at a .682 clip (30 of 44), including a 9-of-13 effort (.692) from 3-point range, and edged the 14th-ranked Flyers 78-76.

The difference was 3-point shooting. Monta McGhee was 3 of 7, but the rest of the Flyers combined to go just 1 of 8 from beyond the arc.

The good news is that the Flyers (22-5, 16-4 GLVC) already had clinched the GLVC title outright and the No. 1 seeding for the upcoming GLVC Tournament. Lewis also should retain the No. 1 ranking in the Great Lakes Region, making it the leading candidate to host the regional tournament March 13-16.

The game was tied seven times in the first half before SIUE (16-11, 11-9 GLVC) assembled a 26-12 run during the last 11:19 that gave the Cougars a 44-30 lead at the break. SIUE was 18 of 24 (.750) overall and 4 of 6 (.667) from 3-point distance in the first 20 minutes.

Trailing 53-41 at the 15:08 mark, Lewis made its move with a 16-3 run that spanned a little more than six minutes. Five players scored during the spurt, which concluded with consecutive baskets by Sarunas Skadas that gave the Flyers their only lead of the second half, 57-56, with 8:55 to play.

SIUE regained the advantage seconds later on one of Joel Jaye's six 3-pointers, and the Cougars gradually expanded their lead to seven points, 75-68, with 3:15 left.

Lewis scored the next six points on baskets by McGhee, Demitrius Hunter and Steve Turner, trimming the SIUE lead to a single point. A dunk by Jaye on the next Cougar possession made it 77-74 with :36 remaining.

Hunter canned a jumper with :18 left and immediately stole the ball, but he couldn't retain possession. After Calvin Sykes made one of two free throws with :12 to play, the Flyers missed a 3-point attempt at the buzzer.

Jaye led all scorers with 28 points, making 11 of 15 shots overall and 6 of 8 in the 3-point department. Sykes scored 16 points and added eight assists, and Ron Jones netted 11 points.

McGhee, who was 9 of 15 from the field, led the Flyers with 23 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Sidney Holmes collected 13 points and seven rebounds, Hunter scored 13 points and Turner contributed 10 points.

Lewis will face Quincy, the No. 8 seed, Friday at 2:30 p.m. in the GLVC Tournament first round at Roberts Stadium in Evansville, Ind. The winner will face No. 4 Indianapolis or No. 5 SIUE in Saturday's 6 p.m. semifinal. The championship game is set for Sunday at 3:30 p.m.

In Friday's other first-round matchups, No. 3 Kentucky Wesleyan faces No. 6 Saint Joseph's at 6 p.m., and No. 2 Southern Indiana takes on No. 7 Northern Kentucky at 8:30 p.m.