Feb. 7, 2008

Box Score

ROMEOVILLE, Ill. - Behind 15 second-half points from junior Jason Genova, the Lewis Flyers erased an 11-point halftime deficit and hung on to defeat the Southern Illinois Edwardsville Cougars 76-70, Thursday evening in a Great Lakes Valley Conference game at Neil Carey Arena.

The Flyers (15-5, 8-4) earned their second straight win and remained within two games of first place in the division.

After falling behind by double digits in the first half the Flyers wasted no time getting back in the game in the second. Lewis opened the second half with a 17-2 run, taking the lead for the first time in the game with 14:59 left to play when junior Brandon Dagans made a pair of free throws.

The game remained close the rest of the way, but the Cougars only led one more time. The game was tied 58-58 when Genova put Lewis up for good by hitting two free throws, and he increased the Flyers' lead to five with a 3-pointer on Lewis' next possession. Lewis' largest lead was six points.

Lewis' defense held the Cougars to 26 points and forced nine turnovers in the second half. On the other side of the ball, Lewis hit 13-of-15 at the line, including 10 straight over the final 13:40 of the game.

Genova finished with a game-high 21 points, hitting five treys, and was one of four Flyers to reach double figures in scoring. Dagans and freshman Dennis Thomas, Jr. each scored 16 points, and senior Stephan Bolt totaled 11 with a game-best eight rebounds. Freshman Steve Crane added six points and four rebounds.

T.J. Gray led the cougars with 18 points. He staked the visitors to a hefty first-half lead by hitting 5-of-6 from 3-point range, but was held to just three points in the second.

The Flyers shot 48 percent for the game, compared to 47 percent by the Cougars. After ripping 8-for-13 form 3-point range in the first half, the Cougars added just one more trey in the second, despite 12 more attempts. Lewis was 8-for-23 from beyond the arc.

The Flyers return to action on Saturday, hosting Quincy at 3 p.m.