March 6, 2004

Box Score

EVANSVILLE, Ind. - The law of averages prevailed at Roberts Stadium Saturday night in the GLVC Tournament semifinal game between Lewis and Indianapolis. The Flyers and Greyhounds combined to score 129 points in each of their two regular-season meetings. Lewis won 66-63 in Romeoville, and Indianapolis prevailed 65-64 on its home floor.

Saturday's total of 126 -- pretty close.

More importantly, the Flyers believed the law of averages in 3-point shooting success just had to be in their favor following an ice-cold 2-of-12 performance in Friday's first-round win over Quincy.

That indeed was the case as Lewis, led by a career-high four 3-pointers from reserve guard Anthony Scala, nailed nine treys in a 66-60 victory that propelled the top-seeded Flyers into Sunday's 3:30 p.m. tournament championship game against Kentucky Wesleyan.

Kentucky Wesleyan nipped Southern Indiana 74-73 in the second semifinal, giving assurance that Lewis - ranked No. 1 in the Great Lakes Region and No. 17 nationally - will host the eight-team NCAA Division II Great Lakes Regional March 13-16.

The 64-team Division II field will be announced late Sunday night. The eight regional champions advance to the Elite Eight in Bakersfield, Calif., March 24-27.

"I fired myself as 3-point shooting coach after the Quincy game," a smiling Lewis head coach Jim Whitesell said.

Scala buried three 3-pointers and scored 11 of his 14 points in the second half to help Lewis (24-5) keep Indianapolis (20-9) at bay.

"Anthony played really well, very intelligently, and gave us a big lift," Whitesell said.

A nip-and-tuck first half featured five ties and 12 lead changes. The largest lead for either team was a 32-28 Lewis margin in the final minute before the Flyers settled for a 32-30 halftime edge.

After Indianapolis gained a 32-all tie with a basket on its initial second-half possession, the Flyers pulled out to a 42-32 lead with a 10-0 flurry that spanned four minutes. Demitrius Hunter hit two free throws, Steve Turner hit a jumper and a 3-pointer, and Scala canned a 3-pointer during the spurt.

A 9-2 Indianapolis run cut the Lewis margin to three points, but Scala answered with a trifecta at the 10:05 mark that gave the Flyers a 47-41 lead and some much-needed momentum.

Lewis regained a double-digit lead when Monta McGhee (Chicago, Ill./Robeson)'s 3-pointer off the glass made it 57-47 with 4:16 left. Scala followed with another triple a minute later to give the Flyers a 60-47 cushion, their largest of the night.

Indy's David Logan made two 3-pointers and Cory Bennett netted another in the final three minutes but it was too little, too late for the Greyhounds.

McGhee, who came in averaging 19.1 points per game, managed 14 points despite a smothering Indianapolis double-team in the low post. Turner also scored 14, and Randy Wright scored eight.

"Good teams are at their peak defensively at tournament time and that showed tonight," Whitesell said. "It was hard for either team to score easy baskets inside.

"We did a good defensive job on them around the basket, and they did a good job on Monta. That made our 3-point shooting even more important."

Logan led all scorers with 16 points, and Jason Wright added 10 points to go with nine rebounds.

McGhee and Sidney Holmes grabbed nine and eight rebounds, respectively, as Lewis nipped Indy 31-30 on the glass. Hunter collected five rebounds and four assists.

The Flyers produced their eighth single-digit turnover of the game, committing just nine miscues.

Sunday's championship-game appearance is the third in succession for Lewis. The Flyers beat Kentucky Wesleyan 77-65 to win the 2002 title and lost 58-55 to Northern Kentucky in last year's final.