Dec. 20, 2008

Box Score

Winona State 81, Lewis 78 (OT) in PDF Format

Winona, Minn. - Winona State rallied from a seven-point overtime deficit by outscoring the Lewis University men's basketball team, 14-4, over the final minute of the extra session to pick up the 81-78 non-conference over the Flyers at McCown Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon.

Winona State's David Johnson posted a game-high 28 points, 18 of which came after halftime, while teammate Jon Walburg added 14 points in the victory.

With the victory, Winona State improves to 8-4 on the season, while the Flyers fall to 6-4 on the campaign.

Lewis senior guard Brandon Dagans (Harvey, Ill./Thornton) topped the Flyers with 26 points, while teammates Jason Genova (Chicago, Ill./St. Patrick./Saint Xavier) and Mike Robinson (Chicago, Ill./Hales Franciscan/Eastern Illinois) added 17 and 15 points respectively.

The Flyers, who were in control for much of the game, built a seven-point lead in the extra session behind a 10-3 run, capped off by a three-pointer from Genova, to take a 74-67 advantage over Winona State with 1:21 remaining in overtime.

On the ensuing possession, Johnson converted a lay-up to narrow Lewis' advantage to 74-69 with 59 ticks left and the Warriors immediately went into a press defense.

Genova turned the ball over in an attempt to inbound the ball as Winona State guard Ben Fischer (8 points, 12 rebounds, 7 assists) intercepted the pass. Fischer put the ball in Walburg's hands and he was fouled by Dagans, sending him to the line. Walburg drained both of his attempts to narrow the gap to 74-71 with 54 seconds left.

Forced to foul, Winona State sent freshman guard Chris McClellan (Buffalo Grove, Ill./Wheeling) to the line and McClellan (7 points) knocked down both of his charity shots to put the Flyers back ahead at 76-71 with 39 seconds remaining.

Winona State guard Travis Whipple immediately drove the ball to the basket and converted a three-point play, drawing a foul on McClellan, to bring the score to 76-74 with 34 seconds left.

Intent on sending Lewis players to the line, Winona State quickly fouled Robinson and the Chicago, Illinois native calmly dropped both of his free throw attempts, lifting the Flyers back to a four-point lead at 78-74 with 33 seconds left.

Walburg drove to the basket on the ensuing possession, but his shot went array. Fischer grabbed the rebound, kicked it out to Johnson, who knocked down his sixth trifecta of the afternoon to bring the Warriors to within one point at 78-77 with 22 seconds remaining.

Winona State's press, once again, proved to be the downfall for Lewis as Dagans turned the ball over and WSU's Luke Doedens claimed the steal and drew the foul, sending him to the line for two free throws. Doedens converted both of his attempts, putting WSU ahead 79-78 with 13 seconds remaining.

The Flyers sealed their own fate following Doedens' free throw shots as sophomore guard Dennis Thomas (Milwaukee, Wis./Bradley Tech) threw the ball away with Doedens securing the steal. Doedens was quickly fouled and made both of his free throw attempts, extending WSU's advantage to 81-78.

Lewis immediately called a time-out and set up a potential game-tying three-point attempt by Genova, but his shot went array, sealing the victory for the Warriors.

For the game, Winona State shot 93.3% (14-for-15) from the free throw line and were 8-for-9 from the charity stripe in the extra session. The Warriors also knocked down 11 three-pointers on the afternoon, including seven trifectas after halftime.

Lewis returns to action on Monday, December 29th, as the Flyers host Robert Morris (Springfield) for a 7 p.m. tip-off at Neil Carey Arena.

A Catholic University sponsored by the De La Salle Christian Brothers, Lewis offers nearly 80 undergraduate majors and programs of study, accelerated degree completion options for working adults, various aviation programs and 22 graduate programs in nine fields. The mid-sized university is being honored for the fifth consecutive year by The Princeton Review and U.S. News & World Report. For more information please visit www.lewisu.edu.

##LEWIS##