Feb. 25, 2006

Box Score

ROMEOVILLE - Stephan Bolt (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove North)'s 17-point, 16-rebound performance and Pat Monaghan (Hoffman Estates, Ill./Fremd)'s 16-point effort allowed Lewis to pressure Northern Kentucky to the wire Saturday, but the visiting Norse finished the game on a 7-1 run and defeated the Flyers 72-66.

Lewis concluded the season with a 13-14 overall record and a 7-12 Great Lakes Valley Conference ledger. Northern Kentucky, ranked No. 8 in the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Region, improved to 17-10, 12-7.

Bolt's scoring and rebounding totals led all players. The double-double is his fifth of the season and third in four games, and his 16 rebounds (six offensive) are a Lewis season high and the third-highest total by a GLVC player this season. Bolt rebounded in double figures for an eighth time this year.

Monaghan scored 12 of his 16 points via the 3-pointer (4-of-9). Kendall Patterson tallied a team-high five assists.

Bolt and Monaghan finished the season strongly. Bolt averaged 17.2 points and 10.2 rebounds and shot 64 percent from the floor in his final five games, and he finished as the GLVC's third-leading rebounder with an 8.2 average. Monaghan averaged 16.3 points and sank 14 3-pointers in his last four outings, and his average of 2.19 treys per game is good for a top-10 spot in the conference.

NKU led most of the first half, although its largest margin was just five points. The Norse owned a 26-21 advantage with 5:12 left, but the Flyers held the visitors to just three points the rest of the half and closed the gap to 29-28 at halftime.

Trailing 46-39, Lewis used a 3-pointer by Bruno Marion, a layup by Patterson and a conventional 3-point play by Dustin Warfield to take a 47-46 lead at the 11:02 mark.

The game was tied on seven occasions after that, the final time at 65 with 1:22 to play. Then NKU's Billy Finnell took over, scoring a layup followed by a conventional 3-point play for a 70-65 Norse lead. Two Kevin Schappell free throws in the waning seconds secured the win.

Gavin Ludgood had team highs of 13 points and eight rebounds for Northern Kentucky. Travis Rasso had 11 points, seven rebounds and four blocks, Schappell scored 11 points and Finnell collected eight assists.