Feb. 20, 2007

Box Score

ROMEOVILLE, Ill. - In a rock `em, sock `em Great Lakes Valley Conference game with plenty at stake, Wisconsin-Parkside eked out a 70-69 victory over Lewis Tuesday night at Neil Carey Arena.

Lewis (15-11, 10-8) would have clinched a spot in the GLVC Championship tournament by beating Parkside (19-10, 10-8). Instead, the Flyers head into their regular-season finale at Kentucky Wesleyan on Thursday involved in a myriad of complicated tiebreaker scenarios.

The top three teams in both GLVC divisions and two wild-card teams qualify for the conference tournament. Lewis and Parkside are tied for second in the East, with Saint Joseph's right behind at 9-8.

Neither team led by more than five points in a first half that featured six ties and nine lead changes. The Flyers held that five-point advantage, 29-24, before the Rangers concluded the half on a 10-3 run that gave them a 34-32 halftime edge.

Parkside quickly expanded the margin to nine by scoring the first seven points of the second half. But poor shot selection by the Rangers opened the door for Lewis, and the Flyers capitalized with an 11-2 run that resulted in a 43-all count with 14:05 left.

Two more ties followed, the second one a 50-50 deadlock at the 8:32 mark. Although Parkside grabbed the lead for good on a Kyle Clark 3-pointer seconds later and went on to build a nine-point cushion on two occasions, the Flyers chipped away and gave themselves a chance to win.

A layup by Stephan Bolt with 39 seconds left made it a one-possession game, 67-64. After Parkside made one of two free throws, Keelan Donald (Chicago, Ill./Leo)'s layup with seven seconds remaining cut the Rangers' lead to 68-66.

However, Tyrone Deacon sank two free throws to give Parkside a 70-66 lead, making Donald's 3-pointer at the buzzer meaningless.

Jason Genova was 5-of-9 from 3-point range and led all scorers with 21 points. Donald tallied a career-high 18 points and added nine rebounds, while Bolt notched his 15th career double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Matthew Marino had a game-high seven assists.

Parkside was led by Clark (16 points), LaVontay Fenderson (16 points) and Juan Lopez (14 points, 11 rebounds).