March 5, 2004

Box Score

EVANSVILLE, Ind. - Top-seeded Lewis had a gut check against eighth-seeded Quincy Friday afternoon in the first round of the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament. The Hawks led most of the way in their quest to become the first No. 8 seed, men or women, to win a GLVC Tournament game.

Lewis senior forward Monta McGhee, however, just didn't want his team to become part of the answer to a future trivia question.

As he has so often during his two-year Lewis career, McGhee picked up his Flyer teammates and carried them on his back. He tallied 24 points, eight rebounds and three steals in his latest feature presentation, a 72-64 nailbiter that advanced Lewis into Saturday's semifinals.

The Flyers (23-5) will face Indianapolis (20-8), a 77-71 first-round winner over Southern Illinois Edwardsville, in the 6 p.m. semifinal. The Flyers and Greyhounds split two close regular-season affairs, with Lewis winning 66-63 in Romeoville and Indianapolis prevailing 65-64 on its home floor.

"Monta was outstanding," Lewis head coach Jim Whitesell said between sighs of relief. "He never gives up on anything and just refuses to lose.

"Other players did big things from time to time, but Monta made it happen the entire game."

One of those other Flyers was Anthony Scala, whose 3-pointer at the 4:32 mark capped a 13-4 run that turned Quincy's 54-46 advantage into a 59-58 Lewis lead, the Flyers' first of the second half.

Although the trey didn't give Lewis the lead for good, it was a huge lift for a team that had problems with the inspired Hawks.

"Anthony's 3-pointer gave us an emotional lift," Whitesell said. "We made only two 3-pointers the entire game (2 of 12, with Scala making one in the first half), but we couldn't have asked for better timing."

Quincy's Cory Cummens made one of two free throws to tie it at 59. After Sidney Holmes muscled his way for a tip-in that gave the Flyers a 61-59 edge, Quincy's Sam Sutera knifed in for a layup that pulled the Hawks even again.

Lewis went ahead for good on its next possession as Demitrius Hunter dribbled into the lane and canned a one-handed 10-footer while being fouled. Hunter converted the 3-point play for a 64-61 Lewis lead.

McGhee went for the jugular on Quincy's next possession, intercepting a pass and driving in for a layup that made it 66-61 Flyers with 2:53 left.

Jamal Thompson hit a baseline jumper about a minute later to make it a one-possession game, but that was Quincy's final bucket. Randy Wright, Holmes and Scala each buried two free throws in the final 1:22 to secure what Whitesell termed "a beautiful ugly win."

"We've won other games like that this year, when we just had to hang in there," the 12th-year coach said. "Our defense kept us in the game, which usually is the case.

"We seemed to be a step behind for most of the game, but give Quincy credit," Whitesell added. "They negated our pressure defense at times by making some offensive adjustments that led to some easy baskets. We've frustrated Thompson in the past, but he had nine assists and played a good floor game today."

After Quincy (11-17) built a 20-11 first-half lead, Lewis assembled a 17-3 run that put the Flyers on top 28-23 with 5:38 to play. Steve Turner scored seven points during the spurt, which was punctuated by Scala's 3-pointer.

The Hawks refused to buckle, however, outscoring Lewis 13-4 the rest of the half to take a 36-32 lead into the locker room.

The teams were an identical 25 of 51 (.490) from the field overall, with Quincy faring a bit better from beyond the arc (4 of 14, .286). Lewis earned a sizable advantage at the foul line, converting 20 of 26 to Quincy's 10 of 16.

Although Quincy gained a 31-28 rebounding edge for the game, the Flyers outboarded the Hawks 17-12, including eight of their 11 offensive rebounds, in the second half.

Hunter joined McGhee in double figures with 12 points and added four assists, two blocks and two steals. Turner finished with nine points, and Holmes had eight points, a team-high nine rebounds and three steals. Scala and Sarunas Skadas netted eight and seven points, respectively.

Jordan Roth led Quincy with 16 points and nine rebounds but was held to just two points after intermission. Sutera scored 12 points, Cummens scored 11 and Jon Krumtinger collected seven rebounds.