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Romeoville, Ill. - It was a case of too little, too late for the Lewis University men's basketball team, as the Flyers' rally from a 20-point, second-half deficit fell short, as the No. 15 Northern Kentucky Norse earned the 76-70 Great Lakes Valley Conference victory over the Flyers at Neil Carey Arena on Thursday (Feb. 2) night.

The Flyers were behind the eight-ball early, as Northern Kentucky scored 24 of the game's first 30 points. NKU's backcourt of Jon Van Hoose and Eshaunte Jones combined for 12 points and four three-pointers during that run. The Norse took a 42-23 lead into the intermission.

Jones finished with a team-high 20 points, including six three-pointers, while Van Hoose added 12 points and three trifectas. The Norse also received 14 points apiece from guards Ethan Faulkner, Chad Jackson (5 assists) and center DeAndre Nealy (7-for-8 FG, 6 blocks). As a team, NKU shot 61.9% (26-for-42) from the field and 47.4% (9-for-19) from three-point range.

With the win, Northern Kentucky improves to 16-4 on the season and 8-4 in GLVC action, while the Flyers fall to 13-7 overall and 5-7 in conference play.

Lewis freshman guard Ryan Jackson (Bolingbrook, Ill./Riverside-Brookfield) (Bolingbrook, Ill./Riverside-Brookfield) posted a game-high 24 points, while senior point guard Chris McClellan (Buffalo Grove, Ill./Wheeling) (Buffalo Grove, Ill./Wheeling) added 16 points in the loss. Freshman forward Julian Lewis (Flossmoor, Ill./Homewood-Flossmoor) (Flossmoor, Ill./Homewood-Flossmoor) chipped in 11 points and six rebounds, while sophomore guard Nick Valla (Tinley Park, Ill./Marist) (Tinley Park, Ill./Marist/Missouri State) pitched in 10 points off of the bench.

Northern Kentucky extended their halftime lead to 47-27, following a Nealy lay-up, with 17:01 left in the second half. The Flyers would answer NKU's first-half run with one of their own, as they went on a 41-24 run over the next 16 minutes to cut the Norse lead to 71-68 with 31 seconds following a Jackson free throw. That, however, would be as close as the Flyers would get, as NKU went 5-for-6 from the free throw line down the stretch to secure the win.

"I'm proud of the way that our kids battled," Lewis head men's basketball coach Scott Trost said. "Our effort wasn't the same in the first half as it was the second half and that's unacceptable.

"You're not going to beat good teams playing like that in this league."

Lewis returns to action on Saturday (Feb. 4), as they welcome No. 1 Bellarmine for a 7:30 p.m. (CST) tip-off at Neil Carey Arena.