Dec. 17, 2005

Box Score

MIDLAND, Mich. - Prior to Saturday's non-conference game against Northwood, Lewis head coach Kyle Green and his staff were concerned about the explosive 3-point shooting capabilities of the Flyers' opponent.

The Timberwolves came in averaging nearly nine 3-point field goals in their first eight outings of the season, including 13 treys against Lake Superior State and 12 each against Gannon and Grand Valley State.

That threat never materialized, however, as Lewis limited Northwood to a somewhat ordinary 7-of-28 from beyond the arc. Instead it was the Flyers, primarily senior guard Pat Monaghan, who put on a dazzling shooting display in a 101-75 Lewis victory.

Monaghan drilled a career-high six 3-pointers (6-of-8), part of the Flyers' 13-of-20 effort from 3-point distance, and scored a career-high 26 points. He added six assists, tying a career best.

Monaghan's 8-of-11 overall shooting was part of the Flyers' white-hot .621 performance, a season best by far for a team that hadn't reached 50 percent in any of its first eight games this year. Lewis shot 22-of-34 (.647) and scored 56 points following intermission, its best scoring output in any half this season.

The 101 points (35 above the Flyers' season average), 41 total field goals and 13 three-point baskets are highs for Lewis under second-year mentor Green. Ironically, the Flyers were just 6-of-8 at the foul line, a place where they had outscored opponents by a whopping 136-68 prior to Saturday.

Lewis also had a season-best 10 steals and committed only 10 turnovers while forcing 17 Northwood miscues.

Branden Hunter scored a career-high 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting (3-of-5 in 3-point attempts) and tallied four assists, and Brandon Dagans (7-of-10) posted 14 points, three steals and two blocked shots.

Stephan Bolt scored 12 points and collected a team-high nine rebounds, and Dustin Warfield (4-of-6 overall, 2-of-2 three-pointers) netted 10 points.

Monaghan scored seven of his 15 first-half points in an 11-2 run that gave Lewis (6-3) a 23-13 lead with 12:20 to go in the opening stanza.

Northwood (3-6) fought back and tied the score at 39 apiece with :55 left, but 3-pointers by Monaghan and Hunter on the Flyers' final two possessions allowed Lewis to take a 45-41 lead into the locker room.

Following three early second-half ties, Lewis grabbed the lead for good, 55-52, on a Monaghan trey with 15:50 remaining. However, the best was yet to come for the Flyer offense.

Leading 64-57 with just under 12 minutes left, Lewis embarked on a 15-4 spurt that resulted in a 79-61 cushion with 8:31 to play. Five Flyers scored during the run, which included 3-pointers by Warfield, Monaghan and Matt Bogue.

Northwood scored the next five points to slice its deficit to 13, but that was as close as the Timberwolves would get. The 26-point final margin was the Flyers' largest lead of the game.

Northwood, which shot .528 overall, got game highs of 27 points and 10 rebounds from Curt Ludtke.

The Flyers host non-conference opponent Illinois-Springfield Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.