March 1, 2007

Box Score

EVANSVILLE, Ind. - Lewis had Southern Indiana on the ropes in a Great Lakes Valley Conference Championship tournament first-round game Thursday night before USI stormed back for a 57-45 win at Roberts Stadium.

Despite the loss, Lewis (15-13) qualified for the GLVC tournament and posted its first winning record since 2004. Southern Indiana, ranked 14th in NCAA Division II, improved to 26-5.

Lewis led the entire first half and used an 18-3 run to go on top 26-9 at the 10:15 mark. The Flyers carried a 38-26 advantage to the locker room.

Jason Genova scored 14 of his game-high 16 points and Brandon Alexander tallied all 10 of his points in the first half to pace Lewis, which shot 50 percent from the floor while holding USI to 30 percent.

Southern Indiana's second-half comeback was a gradual one. After slicing the Lewis margin to one point on two occasions, the Screaming Eagles took the lead for good, 47-45, on a Melvin Hall 3-pointer with 7:33 to play.

Lewis committed 12 of its 18 turnovers in the second half, and USI capitalized by scoring 16 points as a result of those miscues. The Screaming Eagles had just eight turnovers on the evening.

Keelan Donald led all players with a career-high 11 rebounds and Stephan Bolt collected nine boards as Lewis earned a 37-35 edge on the glass. Donald had a team-high four assists.

Hall and Geoff Van Winkle led USI with 14 points apiece, and Nick Brooks added 10 points and four steals. Rashard Sullivan gathered nine rebounds and three steals, and Kenny Page led all players with eight assists.