Jan. 17, 2008

Box Score

ROMEOVILLE, Ill. - Big runs at the start of both halves helped Lewis to a 78-55 rout of Missouri-St. Louis, Thursday night in Great Lakes Valley Conference action before a season-record 927 fans at Neil Carey Arena.

The Flyers (12-3, 5-2) put four players in double figures in scoring. Senior Stephan Bolt led the team with 21 points. Junior Brandon Dagans added 15, scoring 13 of those in the first half. Junior Jason Genova and freshman Dennis Thomas, Jr. each poured in 12 points.

The Flyers opened the game on a 14-2 run, as the Tritons went just 1-for-7 from the field and committed six turnovers in the game's first six minutes. Lewis maintained a double-digit cushion for most of the half, leading by 15 at one point before Missouri-St. Louis began to chip away.

The Tritons closed the final three minutes of the half with an 8-0 run, capped by a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Tim Green to cut Lewis' lead to just six. That was as close as the Tritons would get.

The Flyers opened the second half much like the first, outscoring Missouri-St. Louis 15-5 over the first five minutes. Bolt put an exclamation point on the rally when he finished a drive from the right wing with a one-handed slam. He was fouled on the play but couldn't convert the free throw. Genova was there for the long rebound and nailed a 3-pointer to put Lewis up by 16 points.

Green made a layup on the next possession for the Tritons, but Thomas Jr. quickly put Lewis back up by 17 with one of his three treys, and the Flyers' lead was not threatened the rest of the game. Lewis' largest lead was 25 points.

The Flyers went 8-for-21 from downtown, while the Tritons made just 1-of-9 from beyond the arc.

Bolt added a game-high nine rebounds to go with his 21 points. He also had two steals. Dagans was 5-for-6 from the field and 4-of-4 at the line, and he grabbed four steals. Thomas, Jr. was a perfect 4-of-4 from the floor, including 3-of-3 from 3-point range to establish his career-best scoring effort.

Sky Frazier led the Tritons with a game-high 24 points.

Lewis returns to action on Saturday, hosting Missouri S&T at 3 pm.