Dec. 9, 2006

Box Score

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Lewis fought back from a big early deficit and made a game of it, but Southern Illinois Edwardsville showed why it has the league's top defense in a 65-46 Great Lakes Valley Conference victory over the Flyers on Saturday.

SIUE (6-3, 3-1 GLVC), which ranks first in scoring defense and second in field goal percentage defense in the GLVC, led 17-3 at the 12:16 mark of the first half.

Lewis (5-3, 2-2 GLVC) didn't give in. Stephan Bolt scored six of his team-high 13 points and Brandon Alexander added four in a 15-4 run that sliced the SIUE margin to 21-18 with 5:55 remaining.

The Cougars righted their ship, scoring the next 10 points en route to a 33-22 halftime lead. The Flyers tallied the first four points of the second half to make it a seven-point game, but a 13-2 SIUE spurt gave the hosts a 46-28 cushion and firm command of the proceedings.

With Bolt and Brandon Dagans leading the way with seven apiece, Lewis won the rebounding battle 37-33. The Flyers have not been beaten on the glass this season, winning six times and battling two opponents to a draw.

However, Lewis shot just 35 percent overall and 20 percent from 3-point range and suffered 17 turnovers. SIUE connected on a less-than-impressive 44 percent of its shots but committed only 11 turnovers.

Dustin Warfield joined Bolt in double figures with 12 points. SIUE's Ty Johnson registered game highs of 18 points and seven assists, and Mike Hardiek led all players with eight rebounds.

Following final exams this week, Lewis travels to Grand Valley State for a non-conference game next Saturday.