ROMEOVILLE, Ill. – Lewis University's men's basketball team overcame a 10-point deficit thanks to a strong second half in its 79-69 win over Southern Indiana on Saturday afternoon at Neil Carey Arena. The Flyers improve to 17-4 overall and 9-3 in the GLVC while the Screaming Eagles drop to 16-6, 8-4 in league action.

Lewis led by as many as five after a layup by Kendale McCullum (Elgin, Ill./Elgin Larkin) with 11:17 remaining in the opening half.

Southern Indiana entered the game averaging nearly 82 points per contest but the Flyer defense held them to just 12 points in the first 10-plus minutes of the game. The Screaming Eagles made only two of their first 10 shots but were 6-for-7 at the foul line.

USI's offense got on track over the final 9:30 of the half making nine of their final 18 shots and outscored Lewis in that span 29-17 to take a 39-32 lead into in the locker room at the half.

The Screagles drew first blood in the second half as Kobe Caldwell hit a three to extend their lead to double digits.

Donovan Oliver (Kewanee, Ill./Kewanee) answered with a three on the ensuing possession sparking an 11-0 run for the Flyers allowing them to retake the lead with 15:08 left in the contest.

The lead didn't last long though as Southern Indiana came right back with 10 straight points to retake the lead at 52-43 after back-to-back three's from Nate Hansen and Alex Stein with just over 13 minutes to go.

Lewis punched right back holding the Screagles scoreless for the next five-plus minutes and rattled off 14 points in a row to regain the lead at 57-52 on a layup from McCullum.

The lead grew to seven with less than six minutes to go but USI was able to cut it to three when Hansen hit a three from the right corner off an out of bounds to play to make it 63-60 with less than four minutes left.

Oliver hit two big free throws and Kendale McCullum (Elgin, Ill./Elgin Larkin) added a layup in transition to extend the lead back to seven with 3:26 to go.

The Screagles cut it to five with 2:28 left but wouldn't get any closer as the Flyers scored 10 of their final 12 points at the foul line in the final 2:06 to ice the game.

McCullum led five Lewis players in double figures with 22 points. Oliver added 16, Pischke finished with 11 while Jake Reinhart (Bloomington, Ill./Central Catholic) and Anthony D'Avanzo (Harwood Heights, Ill./Notre Dame) had 10 points apiece. D'Avanzo was strong on the boards as well grabbing a career-high 13 rebounds to post his first double-double of the season and third in his career.

The Flyers finished the contest shooting 48 percent (25-for-52) from the field, including 7-of-16 from downtown and made a season-high 22 free throws. They also outrebounded USI 36-to-26.

The Screaming Eagles finished the game with four players reaching double figures in scoring led by Stein with 20. Emmanuel Little added 13, Hansen had 12 off the bench and Caldwell finished with 10. USI was held to 43 percent (24-for-56) shooting in the contest and was just 8-of-25 from beyond the arc.

Lewis is back at home on Thursday (Feb. 14) taking on Missouri-St. Louis at 7:30 p.m.