Box Score  / St. Francis (Ill.) Box Score (PDF)

Joliet, Ill. - The Lewis University men's basketball team is off to its best start in 17 years, as the Flyers remain undefeated with the 74-64 non-conference victory over local rival St. Francis (Ill.) at the Sullivan Center on Wednesday (Dec. 4) night.

Lewis junior forward Julian Lewis (Flossmoor, Ill./Homewood-Flossmoor) led the charge for the Flyers with a double-double of 20 points and 11 rebounds.

The Flyers also received solid performances from both junior guard Ryan Jackson (Bolingbrook, Ill./Riverside-Brookfield) and sophomore center Kyle Nelson (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles North). Jackson had 17 points, including three trifectas, and was a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line. Nelson had 10 points on 5-for-9 shooting from the floor and added two blocks in the victory. Junior point guard Jeff Jarosz (Lyons, Ill./Morton) dished out a career-high six assists, as Lewis finished with a season-high 18 helpers.

"Anytime you get a 10-point win on the road, you'll take it," Lewis head men's basketball coach Scott Trost said. "I thought with the exception of the last seven or eight minutes we played pretty well tonight."

The Flyers move to 5-0 on the season, matching mark set by the 1996-97 squad. St. Francis (Ill.) falls to 2-7 on the campaign.

St. Francis (Ill.) junior guard Matt Sherriff drained a game-high six three-pointers to finish with a team-best 18 points for the Fighting Saints. USF junior guard Chris Miller added 13 points in the loss. The Fighting Saints shot a blistering 50% (13-for-26) from three-point range, but were outscored 28-4 in the paint by the Flyers.

Lewis shot 50.0% (25-for-50) from the floor and shot 77.3% (17-for-22) from the free throw line. The Flyers continue to take care of the ball, as they turned the ball over just nine times, marking the third time this season they had less than 10 miscues.

Lewis is back in action on Saturday (Dec. 7), as the Flyers head to Ohio to square off with Cedarville for a 4:15 PM ET tip-off.