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Somers, Wis. - It was an uphill battle for the Lewis University men's basketball team against UW-Parkside, but once they got to the top, it was hard for the Flyers to stop rolling, as they rallied from a nine-point, second-half deficit on their way to the 90-83 Great Lakes Valley Conference win over the Rangers in the regular-season finale at DeSimone Gymnasium on Thursday (Feb. 23) night.

Lewis senior point guard Chris McClellan (Buffalo Grove, Ill./Wheeling) (Buffalo Grove, Ill./Wheeling) led five Flyers in double-figures with a game-high 20 points. McClellan knocked down four three-pointers and finished with a team-high six assists. Lewis freshman guard Ryan Jackson (Bolingbrook, Ill./Riverside-Brookfield) (Bolingbrook, Ill./Riverside-Brookfield) added 17 points, while classmate Julian Lewis (Flossmoor, Ill./Homewood-Flossmoor) (Flossmoor, Ill./Homewood-Flossmoor) was a perfect 6-for-6 to finish with 15 points.

The story for the Flyers was the performance by their bench, as junior guard David Bryant (Batavia, Ill./Batavia) (Batavia, Ill./Batavia) scored 14 points, followed by senior forward Lonnie Lawrence (Bloomington, Ill./Bloomington) (Bloomington, Ill./Bloomington), who matched a career-high with 13 points and added a game-high eight rebounds to boot.

The Flyers were deadly from three-point range, as they converted a season-best, 66.7% (10-for-15) from three-point range, and also got to the free throw line, early and often, making 26-of-35 - both season-highs. For the game, Lewis missed just 17 shots and converted 61.4% (27-for-44) of their field goal attempts.

WIth the victory, Lewis improves to 16-10 overall and 8-10 in the GLVC, while the host Rangers end their season with a record of 8-18 on the campaign and 1-17 in conference action.

UW-Parkside guard Sam Katula topped the Rangers with 17 points, followed by 15 points apice from forward Jeremy Saffold and guard Leneal Harris. Kevin Senechalle and Colt Grandstaff both came off the bench and scored 11 points apiece for the Rangers.

While Lewis knocked down 66.7% of their three-point attempts, the Rangers were smoking hot early, as they converted nine of their first 12 attempts from long range, before making only two of their next nine. As a team, UW-Parkside shot 54.9% (28-for-51) from field goal range and 52.4% (11-for-21) from three-point distance.

That shooting performance helped the Rangers build a 60-51 lead with 12:11 remaining in the second-half, following a Grandstaff trifecta.

The Flyers, led by Lawrence and Bryant, then went on a 39-23 run to close out the game and secure the victory. Bryant scored 12 of his 14 points - including a pair of three-pointers - during that stretch, while Lawrence chipped in 11 of his tallies.

"We hung in there and found a way to win," Lewis head men's basketball coach Scott Trost said. "I thought our bench played well, particularly Lonnie Lawrence (Bloomington, Ill./Bloomington), David Bryant (Batavia, Ill./Batavia) and Justin Jarosz (Homer Glen, Ill./Lockport), but it was a total team effort tonight."

Lewis has secured the No. 10 seed in the upcoming 2012 SCHEELS GLVC Men's Basketball Tournament and will head to the state capital on Sunday (Feb. 26) to square off with UIS for a 3 p.m. tip-off.