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Kirksville, Mo. - The No. 23 Lewis University men's basketball team held off a late surge by Truman State and claimed the 74-64 Great Lakes Valley Conference victory over the host Bulldogs at Pershing Arena on Sunday (Jan. 4) afternoon.

With the victory, Lewis extends its winning streak to seven games and improves to 10-1 overall and 2-0 in GLVC action, while the host Bulldogs drop to 9-4 on the campaign and 1-2 in conference play. This is the first time since the 2003-04 campaign that Lewis has won its first two GLVC road contests.

Lewis senior guard Ryan Jackson (Bolingbrook, Ill./Riverside-Brookfield) topped all scorers with 22 points on 8-for-13 shooting, while backcourt mate Jeff Jarosz (Lyons, Ill./Morton) added 14 points and seven rebounds. Flyer freshman guard Max Strus (Hickory Hills, Ill./Stagg) pitched in 12 points, eight rebounds and a team-high four assists and two blocks in the win, while teammate Julian Lewis (Flossmoor, Ill./Homewood-Flossmoor) tied a team-season high with 11 rebounds.

Truman State senior guard Seth Jackson led the Bulldogs with 18 points, while junior guard Cole Myers added 13 points, including three trifectas. Redshirt sophomore guard Cory Myers had 11 points, five assists and four rebounds in the loss.

Lewis enjoyed a sizeable advantage on the glass, as they outrebounded Truman State, 42-30, including 10 offensive rebounds that led to 14 second chance points for the Flyers. The Flyers also dominated down low, partly due to Truman State's 28 three-point attempts, with a 40-16 advantage in points in the paint.

The Flyers held a 52-26 lead over Truman State with 15:44 remaining in the second half, before the Bulldogs went on their run. The Bulldogs outscored Lewis, 38-16, over the next 14:11 to narrow the Flyers' advantage to 68-64 with 1:33 left in the game. During that stretch, TSU hit six three-pointers and were led offensively by Jackson who scored eight points.

That, however, was as close as the Bulldogs would get.

Forced to foul, Cory Myers sent Jackson to the free throw line for a 1-and-1, but not before TSU senior guard Reed Mells (9 assists) was whistled for a technical foul with 37 seconds left in the contest.     

Jackson hit both of his technical free throws to extend Lewis' lead to 70-64 and drained both ends of his 1-and-1 free throws to push the Flyers' advantage to 72-64 and out of reach for Truman State.

Lewis head men's basketball coach Scott Trost credited Truman State's defense and their timely shooting down the stretch.

"We were up 26 and then their pressure bothered us," Trost said. "We panicked a little bit and they hit some huge three's as well."

Despite the huge run by Truman State, Trost believes his squad can benefit from the experience.

"We hung together, but we need to learn from this and be better the next time," Trost said.

Lewis returns to action on Thursday (Jan. 8), as they host UMSL for a 7:30 PM tip-off at Neil Carey Arena for Grammar School/Scout Night.