Feb. 11, 2006

Box Score

ROMEOVILLE - Dustin Warfield (Peoria, Ill./Central)'s short jumper in the closing seconds of overtime lifted the Lewis University men's basketball team to a second consecutive "must" win, this one a 64-62 victory over Kentucky Wesleyan Saturday at Neil Carey Arena.

Warfield rebounded Branden Hunter (Silvis, Ill./United Township)'s missed 3-point attempt to the left of the basket, and his baseline shot from about 10 feet away trickled in to give the Flyers the lead. The Lewis defense completed the job following a timeout, smothering Kentucky Wesleyan's Dewayne Rogers and forcing a long 3-point try that missed the mark.

The Flyers won for a fifth time this season after trailing at halftime, with two of those wins coming this week. Kentucky Wesleyan led 31-20 at the break, and Wisconsin-Parkside held a 33-30 edge Tuesday before Lewis came back to post a 71-66 victory.

Both games were crucial to the Flyers' hopes of qualifying for the eight-team Great Lakes Valley Conference Championship tournament. The top three teams from each division and two wild-card entries will trek to Evansville, Ind., for the tournament that begins March 3.

Lewis improved to 12-11 overall and 6-9 in the GLVC with Saturday's outcome, a win that gave the Flyers their first season sweep of Kentucky Wesleyan since the 1995-96 campaign. Quincy (10-5) appears to have the inside track to one wild-card spot, while Lewis is battling Wisconsin-Parkside (7-8) and Missouri-St. Louis (6-9) for the other.

Kentucky Wesleyan fell to 6-16 overall and 3-12 in the GLVC.

John Loeffelholz rebounded his own miss and scored with 7:29 left in the first half to give Lewis a 20-17 lead, but those were the last points the Flyers would score in the opening period. Kentucky Wesleyan closed the half with a 14-0 run and took an 11-point cushion into the locker room.

Lewis turned up the defensive pressure early in the second half, and the result was a 15-4 spurt, featuring scoring from five different players, that tied the score at 35.

The game was tied twice more before the Flyers regained the lead. Kendall Patterson, who tallied a career-high 11 points, gathered an offensive rebound and scored to make it 44-43 Lewis with 8:35 to play.

Kentucky Wesleyan came back to take a 49-45 lead, but the Flyers responded with two huge plays that knotted the score again. Stephan Bolt (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove North)'s conventional 3-point play made it 49-48, and following two Panther free throws, Pat Monaghan buried a trey to even the score at 51 with 4:04 remaining.

Seven possessions, four for Kentucky Wesleyan and three for Lewis, came and went with no points. Bolt, with a Warfield assist, finally ended the stalemate with a bucket that gave the Flyers a 53-51 lead at the 1:15 mark.

KWC's Travis Johnson collected his own miss and scored for a 53-all tie with 45 seconds remaining. The Panthers had a chance to win it after a Lewis miss, but Rogers' 3-point try off an out-of-bounds play was no good.

Neither team led by more than two points in the extra session, and the score was tied at 55, 60 and 62 prior to Warfield's heroics that gave Lewis its second overtime triumph in as many tries this season.

Bolt led all scorers with 18 points, including 14 in the second half and overtime. He and Monaghan tied for team rebounding honors with eight apiece. Warfield registered 10 points and five rebounds, Hunter tied his career high of six assists, and Brandon Dagans had four assists and three steals.

Rogers (15 points), Johnson (11 rebounds) and Alvin Lewis (five assists) led Kentucky Wesleyan, which was hampered by a 13-of-21 showing (.619) at the foul line. The Panthers were just 6-of-12 at the stripe in the second half.

The win allowed Lewis to surpass its home and GLVC victory totals of last season. The Flyers are 9-5 at Neil Carey Arena following last year's 8-7 mark.

The Flyers play their final two road games of the regular season next week, traveling to Indianapolis Feb. 16 and to Saint Joseph's Feb. 18.