Feb. 18, 2006

Box Score

RENSSELAER, Ind. - The 1-2 scoring punch of Stephan Bolt and Pat Monaghan allowed Lewis to give nationally ranked Saint Joseph's a fight Saturday, but the No. 5 Pumas pulled away late in the second half and posted an 80-66 Great Lakes Valley Conference victory.

Lewis fell to 12-13 overall and 6-11 in the GLVC. The Flyers must win both of their remaining games - home contests against Bellarmine on Thursday and Northern Kentucky on Saturday - and Wisconsin-Parkside (8-9 GLVC) must lose against the same two opponents for Lewis to qualify for the eight-team GLVC Championship tournament.

Bolt and Monaghan scored 18 points apiece, and Bolt added a game-high 12 rebounds (five offensive) to register his fourth double-double of the season and second in as many games. He has rebounded in double figures seven times and has led the Flyers in that category 21 times this season.

Monaghan's five 3-point baskets (5-of-9) are his career high against a GLVC opponent. He and Dustin Warfield each grabbed six rebounds as the Flyers trailed Saint Joseph's, the GLVC's No. 2 team in rebounding margin (plus-6.3 per game), just 38-36 on the boards.

After Saint Joseph's (24-2, 14-2 GLVC) scored the first four points, Lewis assembled an 8-0 run to take an 8-4 lead with 16:06 left in the first half. The Flyers held the upper hand for most of the half and gradually built a seven-point advantage, 21-14, at the 9:47 mark.

The Pumas charged back with a 12-3 spurt over the last 3:21 of the half that gave them a 36-33 halftime edge.

Although the Flyers would not regain the lead, they didn't let Saint Joseph's out of their sights. Two Ryan Sharp free throws with 9:06 to play made it 60-52 Pumas. After SJC scored the next seven points to build a 15-point cushion, Lewis responded with its own 7-0 run, with five points coming from Bolt, to cut the Puma lead to 67-59 with 5:05 to play.

That was as close as the Flyers would get, however, as Saint Joseph's held them to just two field goals the rest of the way.

Derek Fey led Saint Joseph's with 21 points (4-of-6 in 3-point shooting) and 10 rebounds. Sullivan Sykes scored 17 points, while Blake Schoen and Ronald Coleman tallied 10 apiece.