Box Score  / McKendree Box Score (PDF)

Lebanon, Ill. - Playing without leading scorer Ryan Jackson (Bolingbrook, Ill./Riverside-Brookfield), the No. 23 Lewis University men's basketball team rallied from an eight-point second half deficit and gutted out an 85-78 Great Lakes Valley Conference road victory over McKendree at the Harry Statham Sports Center on Thursday (Jan. 16) night.

Most would think Lewis would miss Jackson's 18.5 points-per-game, but the Flyers had more than enough to pick up the slack.

Lewis junior point guard Jeff Jarosz (Lyons, Ill./Morton) poured in a career-high 24 points on 8-for-12 shooting from the floor and knocked down 8-for-10 attempts from the free throw line. Flyer sophomore center Kyle Nelson (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles North) matched a career-high 18 points on 8-for-12 shooting, including seven rebounds.

Junior forward Julian Lewis (Flossmoor, Ill./Homewood-Flossmoor) notched his third-straight double-double with 18 points and a career-high 16 rebounds. His 16 boards are the most caroms by a Flyer since Stephan Bolt grabbed 16 against Saint Joseph's on March 8, 2008. Lewis had a double-double in the second half alone with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Lewis senior guard Nick Valla (Tinley Park, Ill./Marist) added 15 points, 13 of which came in the second half, on 6-for-10 shooting.

"It's a team game and the next man has to step up," Lewis head men's basketball coach Scott Trost said of Jackson's absence. "I thought Jeff (Jarosz) carried us in the first half and Julian (Lewis) probably played his best game of the season."

With the win, Lewis improves to 12-1 on the season and 4-1 in conference play, while the host Bearcats drop to 6-6 on the campaign and 0-4 in GLVC action.

McKendree junior Arthur Williams topped the Bearcats with 21 points, while junior guard Mike DiGregorio added 16 tallies. McK junior forward Matt Holmes posted a double-double of 12 points and 15 rebounds, while senior guard Clinton Hoppe collected 12 points as well.

The Flyers dominated down low as they held a 56-26 advantage over the Bearcats in points in the paint. Lewis was also aided by five turnovers on the evening, marking the fourth time in the last five games that the Flyers have had five or fewer miscues.

For the game, Lewis shot 50.8% (33-for-65) from the field, while McKendree made just four buckets over the final 11 minutes of the contest.

That stretch for McKendree proved to be the downfall for the Bearcats, as they held a 58-50 lead with 14:40 remaining in the second half. The Flyers, led by six points from Lewis, went on a 14-5 run over the next five minutes to take a 64-63 advantage over McKendree.

From that point on McKendree converted just 3-for-11 of their field goal attempts and turned the ball over three times to help the visiting Flyers secure the victory.

"I thought Julian (Lewis) and (Nick) Valla played well on both ends (tonight)," Trost said. "We got stops when we needed them."

Lewis returns to action on Saturday (Jan. 18), as the Flyers head to the state capital to take on Illinois-Springfield for a 3 PM tip-off.