Feb. 28, 2009

Box Score

#10 Northern Kentucky 71, Lewis 54 in PDF Format

Highland Heights, Ky. - Too little, too late.

The Lewis University men's basketball team made a valiant attempt to rally from a 22-point second half deficit, but the Flyers were unable to overcome a 28.0% shooting performance in the opening 20 minutes, as #10 Northern Kentucky claimed the 71-54 Great Lakes Valley Conference victory at Regents Hall on Saturday afternoon.

The Flyers knocked down just 7-for-25 of their attempts in the first half and missed all six of their three-point field goal shots, as NKU claimed a 36-19 halftime lead. Conversely, the Norse converted 55.5% (15-for-27) of their attempts in the opening stanza.

Overall, Lewis shot 35.1% (20-for-57) from the field and 6.7% (1-for-15) from three-point range for the game.

"We never gave ourselves a chance today," Lewis head men's basketball coach Scott Trost said. "Today was just one of those games where we were out of sync. It was kind of an ugly game.

"When we don't put the ball in the basket, it makes it awful difficult to win a game," Trost continued. "We just have to learn from this, get better and be ready for the (GLVC Tournament) next weekend."

NKU sophomore forward Dennis Gagai came off the bench to lead the Norse with a game-high 25 points, including five three pointers, while DeAaron Williams added 13 points and Leslie Malone tallied a double-double of 10 points and 13 rebounds.

With the win, Northern Kentucky moves to 21-6 on the campaign and 14-4 in GLVC action, while the Flyers fall to 16-11 on the season and 10-8 in conference play. The Flyers claim the #4 seed in the GLVC East and will square off with Southern Indiana at 6 p.m. (CST) at USI's Physical Activities Center on Friday (March 6) night.

Lewis senior guard Brandon Dagans (Harvey, Ill./Thornton) topped the Flyers with 15 points, while freshman center Marty Strus (Hickory Hills, Ill./Stagg) added 10 points and a team-best seven boards in the loss. Strus also tallied two blocks, giving him 48 on the season - which ties him for the single-season school record along with John Adams (1992-93) and Ben Billups (1983-84).

Lewis sophomore guard Dennis Thomas (Milwaukee, Wis./Bradley Tech) and senior forward Jason Genova (Chicago, Ill./St. Patrick/Saint Xavier) were a combined 3-for-21 from the field.

Following the intermission, the Norse extended their lead to 22 points at 45-23 following a Brad Hosler lay-up at the 16:03 mark.

The Flyers went on a 26-12 run, led by nine points from Dagans, over the next 10 minutes to narrow the Norse's advantage to 57-49 with 5:31 remaining in the game.

NKU, however, went on a 14-5 run, led by three trifectas from Gagai, to close out the game and the victory for the Norse.

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##