ROMEOVILLE, Ill. – Lewis University's men's basketball team dropped its home opener to Wayne State 67-66 on Saturday afternoon at Neil Carey Arena. Donovan Oliver (Kewanee, Ill./Kewanee) led four Flyers (0-3) in double figures with 14 points.

Lewis trailed by as many as eight in the opening half but responded with an 11-2 run to grab a 26-25 lead on a three-pointer by Austin Boucher (Markle, Ind./Fort Wayne North Side). The Warriors (2-1) regained the lead with a steal and a layup from Karim Murray with 4:28 left in the half.

The Flyers answered with a 9-3 run of its own to take its largest lead of the half at 35-30 on Boucher's second three of the half. Wayne State scored the final four points of the half though to cut Lewis' lead to one at the half.

The Flyers shot 39 percent (14-for-36) from the floor in the opening half but were only 6-of-18 from three and 1-for-2 at the foul line. Anthony D'Avanzo (Harwood Heights, Ill./Notre Dame) led Lewis with 10 first half points.

The Flyers scored the first points of the second half on a layup by Adam Pischke (Cary, Ill./Marian Central Catholic) but the Warriors ran off 10 of the next 12 points to take a five-point lead with 15:46 remaining.

Lewis answered right back with an 8-2 run behind four points apiece from Oliver and Pischke to take a 47-46 lead with 12:18 to play. The game continued to go back and forth for the remainder of the contest. Wayne State regained the lead on a bucket from Murray and then extend its lead to five on a three-pointer from James Gordon IV.

The Flyers came back to even the score at 58 on a fast break layup by Pischke with 5:32 left in the contest.  The Warriors hit a pair of free throws to regain the lead with 5:20 but Jake Reinhart (Bloomington, Ill./Central Catholic) hit a three on the ensuing possession to give Lewis a 61-60 lead. Brandon McCombs (Jacksonville, Ill./Jacksonville) put the Flyers ahead by three putting back a miss from D'Avanzo.

Nate Talbot made it a one-point margin hitting a jumper in the paint with 2:19 to go. Pischke put Lewis back ahead by three with a jumper in the paint with 1:19 to play. Wayne State tied the score on a three-pointer from Antonio Marshall with less than a minute to play.

After back-to-back turnovers, the Flyers retook the lead when Oliver hit 1-of-2 at the charity stripe with 0:29 to go. The Warriors answered right back as Gordon IV hit a jumper from the left elbow with 0:09 left to put them back in front 67-66.

Lewis had one final chance but D'Avanzo had the ball knocked out of his hands by Gordon IV as he drove in for the winning bucket.

The Flyers finished the game shooting 40 percent (26-for-65) from the field but was only 7-of-27 from the three-point line and shot 70 percent at the foul line. They outrebounded Wayne State 33-31 in the contest.

The Warriors shot 52 percent (27-for-52) from the floor in the contest, was 7-of-19 from three and shot 86 percent at the foul line. Murray led all scorers with 20 points.

Lewis is back in action next Saturday as it travels to Big Rapids, Mich., to take on Ferris State at 2 p.m. (CST).