Feb. 10, 2005

Box Score

ST. LOUIS - A 3-pointer by Chris Mroz with :02 left in the second overtime gave Missouri-St. Louis an 82-79 Great Lakes Valley Conference victory over Lewis Thursday night, snapping the Flyers' two-game winning streak.

Mroz's trey capped an 11-3 UMSL run that covered the final 3:45 of the second extra period.

An Anthony Scala 3-pointer and two John Loeffelholz free throws - which followed three consecutive Lewis offensive rebounds, two by Loeffelholz himself - gave the Flyers (9-13, 4-11) a 76-71 lead to start the second OT.

UMSL (7-15, 4-12) countered with Derrell Minner's conventional 3-point play, a Joey Paul trey and Aaron Green's layup for a 79-77 edge with :47 left. Randy Wright (Thomasboro, Ill./Rantoul)'s jumper knotted the score at 79 with :38 to play, setting the stage for Mroz.

The game-winning shot wasn't the only clutch basket of the night.

Lewis, ignited by two Scala 3-pointers and Steve Turner (Peoria, Ill./Richwoods)'s conventional 3-point play, fought back from a 54-46 deficit with 4:35 left in regulation to forge ties at 58-all and 60-all. With UMSL up 62-60, Turner rebounded his own miss and scored with :18 left to send the Flyers into their first overtime game of the season.

UMSL returned the favor in the waning moments of the first extra session. Missed free throws left the door open for the Rivermen, and Sherome Cole took advantage by nailing a 3-pointer with :07 showing for a 71-71 tie.

Lewis was on the brink of making it a laugher in the first half, holding a 22-8 cushion with 6:34 to play. In fact, UMSL had just three free throws on the board until Cole scored the Rivermen's first field goal at the 10:40 mark.

But UMSL closed the half with a 13-3 run that shaved the Flyers' lead to 25-21 at the break.

Loeffelholz, who didn't score in the first half, made up for it quickly. He scored the Flyers' first eight points after intermission to spark Lewis to a 37-28 lead with 15:57 left.

UMSL, however, earned a nine-point margin of its own by outscoring the Flyers 24-6. A Mroz 3-pointer at 8:07 capped the outburst and gave the hosts a 52-43 lead.

Scala ended the Lewis drought with a 3-pointer at 6:57, then added two more of his six treys in the final 4:35 to force overtime.

Loeffelholz scored 13 points and collected a career-high 18 rebounds, the most by a GLVC player this season. He also had a career-high three blocks and tied his career best of four assists.

Scala scored 22 points (15 in the second half) and added seven rebounds, and Turner scored 17 points. Pat Monaghan scored 10 points and tallied career highs of eight rebounds and six assists, and Wright chipped in nine points and tied his career high of five rebounds.

Minner led UMSL with 18 points and 13 rebounds.

Lewis travels to 16th-ranked Southern Indiana, the GLVC leader by two games, Saturday afternoon.