Men's Basketball | 11/6/2015 9:30:00 PM

Box Score (PDF)

Chicago, Ill. - The Lewis University men's basketball team cut a 25-point, second-half deficit to seven, but could not come any closer, as Loyola University held on for the 75-65 exhibition victory over the visiting Flyers at the Gentile Center on Friday (Nov. 6) night.

Loyola junior guard Milton Doyle led all scorers with 21 points, including 8-for-10 from the free throw line, followed by 17 points from senior guard Devon Turk. Rambler senior forward Montel James had 13 points and a team-best eight rebounds in the victory.

James keyed a 24-9 run to end the first half with seven points, as the Ramblers held Lewis to without a field goal in the final 5:37 of the opening 20 minutes.

The catalyst for the Flyer comeback was sophomore swingman Max Strus (Hickory Hills, Ill./Stagg) who scored all 15 of his points in the second half. Strus (7 rebounds), however, was held scoreless in the opening stanza after committing three fouls in eight minutes.

Lewis junior guard Miles Simelton (Oswego, Ill./Oswego) pitched in 11 points, while senior center Kyle Nelson (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles North) had nine points and nine rebounds. Flyer freshman Frank Vukaj (Davison, Mich./Davison) collected nine points and five rebounds in 10 minutes of action. 

"I didn't think we competed very hard in the first half," Lewis head men's basketball coach Scott Trost said. "I am, however, really proud of how we battled back and fought in the second half.

"I like our team and we will get better and better as the year goes on."

As a team, Loyola shot 41.4% (24-for-58) from the field, while the Flyers knocked down 35.7% (20-for-56) of their attempts. Loyola took advantage of 17 Flyer miscues and scored 14 points off of the Lewis turnovers.

Lewis opens the 2015-16 campaign on Friday (Nov. 13), as the Flyers head to Ohio to square off with Cedarville in the opening game of the GLIAC/GLVC/GMAC Challenge. Tip-off is set for 7:45 PM ET.