Feb. 26, 2009

Box Score

Lewis 84, UW-Parkside 78 in PDF Format

Kenosha, Wis. - Lewis senior guard Brandon Dagans (Harvey, Ill./Thornton) can always get the job done on the offensive end, evidenced by his team-best 18.8 points-per-game average.

Dagans, however, stepped up his defense when it really mattered as he collected two steals and added six of his team-season best 34 points in the final minute to propel the visiting Flyers to the 84-78 Great Lakes Valley Conference victory over UW-Parkside at DeSimone Gymnasium on Thursday night.

"We'll take a win any way we can on the road," Lewis head men's basketball coach Scott Trost said. "It was a dogfight the whole game and we found a way to make plays down the stretch. We found a way to win and we gutted it out.

"I'm proud of our guys and the way they hung in there tonight."

Dagans was 13-for-16 from the floor and added a team-season best seven assists and six rebounds on the night.

"Brandon was great in the second half and he had to be," Trost said. "He played great and he needed to be."

For the third straight game, the Flyers shot over 50.0%, as Lewis knocked down 52.5% (31-of-59) of their attempts.

Lewis freshman center Marty Strus (Hickory Hills, Ill./Stagg) had 14 points and a team-best eight rebounds, four steals and two blocks.

"Marty is going to be a fantastic player and I'm just glad we have him for three more years," Trost said.

Senior forward Jason Genova (Chicago, Ill./St. Patrick/Saint Xavier) added 13 points, including four three-pointers, while senior guard Mike Robinson (Chicago, Ill./Hales Franciscan/Eastern Illinois) chipped in 10 points off of the bench.

With the victory, Lewis improves to 16-10 on the season and 10-7 in GLVC action, while the Rangers drop to 6-20 overall and 2-15 in conference play.

UW-Parkside senior forward and the nation's leading scorer Lavontay Fenderson led the Rangers with 25 points, while converting all 10 of his free throw attempts. Rangers guard Dave Keane added 15 points, including four three-pointers, while D.J. Dantzler and DaMarcus Bell (10 rebounds) added 14 and 13 points respectively.

Lewis returns to the court on Saturday afternoon, as the Flyers square off with #10 Northern Kentucky for a 2 p.m. tip-off in Highland Heights, Kentucky.

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##