Feb. 15, 2007

Box Score

ROMEOVILLE, Ill. - Jason Genova exploded for a career-high 31 points and Stephan Bolt posted his 14th career double-double to lead Lewis to an impressive 87-70 Great Lakes Valley Conference triumph over Saint Joseph's Thursday night.

The victory lifted the Flyers into second place in the GLVC East Division, two games behind Northern Kentucky with three games to play. The top three teams in each division and two wild-card teams qualify for the eight-team GLVC Championship tournament.

At 14-10 overall and 9-7 in the GLVC, Lewis has eclipsed its overall and conference win totals of a year ago. The Flyers were 13-14, 7-12 last season.

Genova's scoring total included a career-high 11 field goals (11-of-18) and a 6-of-11 performance from 3-point distance. He played the entire game for a sixth time this season, adding to his GLVC lead in minutes played.

Bolt was 7-of-8 from the floor and finished with 18 points, 12 rebounds - his 18th career double-digit rebounding total - and a career-best four assists. He is shooting .628 (81-of-129) in his last 12 games.

GLVC scoring leader Brandon Dagans was held below his 19.4 average but still managed 15 points, and he led the Flyers with six assists. Off the bench, Brandon Alexander scored 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting and grabbed six rebounds, part of Lewis' 40-33 edge on the boards.

Despite being outshot .517 to .400 in the first half, Saint Joseph's (13-10, 8-7) trailed just 43-38 at intermission. The Pumas pulled to within three points twice early in the second half, the second time a 54-51 count with 15:10 remaining.

Lewis countered with a 9-0 run that boosted its lead into double digits for good. Alexander ignited the spurt by scoring a layup after rebounding his own miss, Dagans hit a trey, and Genova and Alexander scored inside for a 63-51 Flyer cushion at the 12:49 mark.

That seemed to deflate Saint Joseph's, which drew no closer than 11 points the rest of the way. The 17-point margin at the buzzer matched Lewis' largest lead of the night.

There were five ties and 11 lead changes in the first half, the final tie a 31-31 deadlock with 3:36 left. The Flyers outscored the Pumas 12-7 down the stretch to earn a five-point halftime advantage.

The Flyers shot a season-best .571 (32-of-56) from the floor, including a blistering .630 (17-of-27) in the second half, and now have reached the 50-percent mark or higher in five of their last eight outings. The Lewis defense held SJC to .382 (26-of-68) for the game.

Ronald Coleman netted 22 points and Matt Comparato added 14 to top the Saint Joseph's scoring chart, and Jonathan Pittman had a game-high seven assists.

Lewis hosts Indianapolis Saturday at 4:30 p.m. in another GLVC East showdown. Indianapolis and Saint Joseph's are tied for third place in the East at 8-7.