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Romeoville, Ill. - The No. 23 Lewis University men's basketball team, led by a game-high 26 points from junior guard Ryan Jackson (Bolingbrook, Ill./Riverside-Brookfield), rallied from a 10-point first half deficit to earn the 74-66 Great Lakes Valley Conference victory over Illinois Springfield at Neil Carey Arena on Thursday (Feb. 20) night. 

Jackson was 9-for-15 from the field and drained two three-pointers in that first half rally. The Bolingbrook, Ill., native along with Flyer reserves David Niggins (Naperville, Ill./Naperville Central) and Capel Henshaw (Harrisburg, Ill./Harrisburg) combined for seven trifectas in the opening stanza. Niggins had a game-high three trifectas and finished with 12 points, while Henshaw (6 points) had two three-pointers.

"I thought we came out sluggish (in the first half), but I liked the way we didn't panic," Lewis head coach Scott Trost said. "We hit some shots, executed our offense and grinded out a win and that's the important thing."

The Flyer frontcourt had a solid night, as sophomore forward Kyle Nelson (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles North) had 12 points on 6-for-9 shooting, while junior forward Julian Lewis (Flossmoor, Ill./Homewood-Flossmoor) had 11 points, nine rebounds, four steals and three assists in the victory .

With the win, Lewis improves to 20-4 overall and 12-4 in GLVC action, while the visiting Prairie Stars drop to 8-16 on the campaign and 4-12 in conference play. The win marks the first time in six years that the Flyers have reached the 20-win plateau.

"(Winning 20 games) is a goal we set at the beginning of the year, and at the beginning of every year," Trost said. "I'm proud of this group and what we've accomplished, but there are a lot of games left."

UIS sophomore guard Jamall Millison had a team-high 18 points, including four three-pointers. Prairie Star freshman Mark Weems had 14 points with six rebounds, while senior guard Brandon Snowden pitched in 11 points and seven rebounds.

As a team, Lewis shot 51.0% (26-for-51) from the field, marking the 14th time this season they have achieved that feat. The Flyers also turned the ball over a mere six times, marking the 12th time this season they have had less than 10 miscues in a game.

Lewis also enjoyed a sizeable advantage at the free throw line, making 15-of-23 of their attempts, while UIS only got to the charity stripe nine times and knocked down five of them.

Lewis returns to action on Saturday (Feb. 22), as the Flyers welcome McKendree to Neil Carey Arena for a 3 PM tip-off.