ROMEOVILLE, Ill. – Lewis University's men's basketball team opens up the 2019-20 regular season down in Lebanon, Ill., this weekend with a pair of in-region contests on the campus of McKendree University. The Flyers tip off against Northern Michigan on Saturday, before concluding the trip with Michigan Tech on Sunday afternoon.

This season marks the fourth consecutive year that Lewis has opened up against the GLIAC tandem. Last season, the Flyers defeated the Huskies 74-53 in the season opener before falling to the host Wildcats 77-59 in the second game.

About Northern Michigan – The Wildcats were picked to finish sixth in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference's North Division. They return 10 players off of last year's squad that advanced to the GLIAC Tournament semifinals. Myles Howard was named to the All-GLIAC Preseason team. NMU is also under new leadership as Matt Majkrzak takes over as head coach. The 'Cats have to replace the scoring Naba Echols and Isaiah Johnson.

About Michigan Tech – The Huskies are coming off of an 11-16 season and a 6-14 mark in the GLIAC. MTU was picked to finish third in the GLIAC North Division this season and had two players selected to the All-GLIAC Preseason Team in Kyle Monroe and Dawson Bilski. Monroe missed all of last season due to injury. He led the GLIAC in scoring in 2017-18 with 27.7 points per game. That mark was also second best in NCAA Division II. Bilski was a second team All-GLIAC selection in 2018-19 leading the team in scoring with 12.8 points per contest.

Last Time Out – The Flyers got off to a hot start in their exhibition contest at Illinois last Friday knocking down four of their first five attempts from three and led by as many as 12 points in the first half. Lewis finished the first half shooting 46.2 percent from the field and was 5-of-7 from downtown. Anthony D'Avanzo (Harwood Heights, Ill./Notre Dame) led all scorers with 17 points in the contest.

Lewis Picked Fifth In GLVC Preseason Poll – The Flyers were picked to finish fifth in the GLVC for 2019-20 in a vote of the GLVC coaches.

Series History Against Northern Michigan – Saturday's contest marks the 10th meeting all-time between the Flyers and Northern Michigan with Lewis leading the series 6-3. However, the Wildcats have won the last two contests.

Series History Against Michigan Tech – Sunday's contest will be the 12th meeting all-time between Lewis and Michigan Tech with the Flyers holding a 7-4 advantage in the series. Lewis snapped a two-game losing streak in the series with its win last season.