Feb. 3, 2007

Box Score

RENSSELAER, Ind. - A valiant comeback effort by the Lewis University men's basketball team fell just short Saturday in an 82-74 Great Lakes Valley Conference loss to Saint Joseph's.

Lewis slipped to 12-9 overall and 7-6 in the GLVC, while Saint Joseph's improved to 12-8, 7-5. In the tight GLVC East Division race, Northern Kentucky is on top at 8-5, Saint Joseph's is in second place and Lewis is tied with Wisconsin-Parkside and Indianapolis for third.

With Saint Joseph's enjoying its largest lead of 27 points at the 6:57 mark, Lewis scored 17 straight and 24 of the next 27 points to make it a 78-72 game with 54 seconds to play.

Saint Joseph's committed a turnover on its next possession, but the Flyers missed a 3-point shot with 37 seconds left that would have made it a one-possession game. From there the Pumas sank two free throws, made another defensive stop and converted two more free throws to seal the victory.

The second-half comeback wasn't the only one for Lewis. Saint Joseph's built a 14-0 lead just a little more than five minutes into the contest, only to see the Flyers storm back with an 18-6 spurt to trail just 20-18 with 7:58 left in the first half.

That was as close as Lewis would get, however, as Saint Joseph's finished the half with a 25-6 flurry that gave the Pumas a 45-24 cushion to take to the locker room.

Brandon Dagans led the Flyers with 21 points, scoring 20 or more for an 11th time in 12 games. Dustin Warfield scored 13 points - including a career-high nine free throws (9-of-10) - and collected a team-high seven rebounds, while Jason Genova tallied 13 points and six rebounds.

Off the bench, Cameron Jones produced season highs of 11 points and six rebounds and Ryan Sharp scored a season-high eight points. Jones and Sharp netted eight points apiece during the Flyers' late 24-3 run.

Ronald Coleman of Saint Joseph's led all players with 26 points and 11 rebounds. Matt Comparato scored 14 points, Brandon Mayse had 11 and Jonathan Pittman and Matty Bush chipped in 10 apiece for the Pumas.

The Flyers travel to Northern Kentucky on Thursday.