ROMEOVILLE, Ill. – Lewis' men's basketball team held off a late charge from Hillsdale to pick up a 68-65 win on Tuesday night at Neil Carey Arena. The win was the fifth straight for the Flyers (5-3) while the Chargers dropped to 6-5.

Lewis led for a majority of the opening half to take a 31-29 lead into the locker room at the intermission. It led by as many as six in the frame while shooting 48 percent (14-for-29) from the floor but was only 2-of-9 from three. Adam Pischke (Cary, Ill./Marian Central Catholic) had seven points in the first 20 minutes while Anthony D'Avanzo (Harwood Heights, Ill./Notre Dame) and Kam Leonard (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook) added five points apiece.

The Flyers opened the second half on a 14-2 run in the first four minutes with seven of those points coming on one possession. D'Avanzo contested a shot on the defensive end and Austen Yarian was hit with a technical foul in frustration. Hillsdale's coach was also given a technical foul on the play as Pischke hit all four free throws to make the score 37-29.

D'Avanzo then drove to the hoop, scored, was fouled and hit the free throw to extend the lead to 40-29.

The Chargers silenced the run momentarily on a bucket from Davis Larson to cut the lead to nine but Lewis responded with a basket from Dre Bell (Detroit, Mich./River Rouge) and a three-pointer from Jake Reinhart (Bloomington, Ill./Central Catholic) to grab its largest lead of the night at 45-31 with 16:04 to play.

The Flyers went cold over the next eight minutes scoring only two points allowing Hillsdale to cut the lead to 47-43 after Yarian hit two free throws with 8:09 remaining.

Lewis responded with a 13-6 run over the next 3:19 to extend its lead back to double digits at 60-49 on a jumper by D'Avanzo in the paint.

The Chargers refused to go away though as they charged back with an 11-2 run to cut the Flyer lead to 62-60 with 1:09 to play.

Pischke hit two free throws with 0:32 left but Yarian hit a three-pointer on the ensuing possession to cut the lead to 64-63 with 0:21 to play.

Bell was fouled on his way up the floor and sank both free throws with 18.6 seconds remaining. Hillsdale got a quick two on the other end to make it a one point game again and fouled Bell again with 10.3 seconds left. He hit both free throws to extend the lead back to three.

The Chargers had a chance to tie the game in the closing seconds but Yarian's three-point attempt from the right wing at the buzzer was short to secure the win for the Flyers.

Bell led three Lewis players in double figures with 15 points and grabbed a career-high nine rebounds. D'Avanzo added 14 points while Pischke finished with 13 points.

The Flyers shot 41 percent (23-for-56) from the floor but were just 4-of-20 from three however, they were 17-for-19 at the foul line in the second half to finish the contest shooting 86 percent at the charity stripe.

Dylan Lowry led all scorers with 26 points while Yarian finished with 11 points.

Lewis concludes the 2019 portion of its schedule hosting Lake Superior State on Saturday (Dec. 21) at 3 p.m. at Neil Carey Arena. The Lakers lost to Indianapolis 73-70 on Tuesday evening in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.