ROMEOVILLE, Ill. – Lewis University's men's basketball team wraps up its four-game homestand hosting No. 22 Indianapolis and No. 8 Bellarmine this Thursday and Saturday at Neil Carey Arena. The Flyers and Greyhounds tip-off at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday and the game with the Knights is scheduled to tip at 3 p.m. on Saturday afternoon.
Last Time Out – Lewis ran into a buzz saw in its 77-63 loss to No. 15 Missouri-St. Louis last Saturday. The Tritons hit 19 of their first 21 shots to begin the contest and the Flyers were unable to overcome an 18-point halftime deficit.
Dre Bell (Detroit, Mich./River Rouge) led Lewis with 11 points while
Anthony D'Avanzo (Harwood Heights, Ill./Notre Dame),
Brandon McCombs (Jacksonville, Ill./Jacksonville) and
Artese Stapleton (Chicago, Ill./Kenwood) had 10 points apiece.
GLVC Tournament – The Flyers are ranked ninth in the latest GLVC Points Rating System which determines the eight-team tournament field. Lewis currently has a rating of 3.25 but are 0.15 behind McKendree for the eighth seed. The format for this year's tournament will the top two seeds on the men's and women's side playing the lowest seeds on Thursday (March 5) while the remaining four seeds on each side will play on Friday (March 6). The semifinals for the tournament will be held on Saturday (March 7) and the championship games will be on Sunday (March 8).
Scheduling Tough – The Flyers have played the fifth toughest schedule of anyone in Division II to this point in the season. Lewis' opposition have combined for a record of 205-125 (.621 winning percentage). The Flyers have played four ranked teams this season going 1-3 in those contests and will play three of those teams again this season.
Stop Thief – Lewis is sixth in the GLVC in steals per game with an average of 7.1 per game.
Adam Pischke (Cary, Ill./Marian Central Catholic) is fourth in the league with an average of 1.83 per contest.
About UIndy – The Greyhounds enter Thursday's contest with a record of 14-4, 6-4 GLVC and have won three of their last four including an 81-76 win at No. 8 Bellarmine last Monday. The Hounds scored 97 points in each of their wins last weekend defeating Drury 97-58 and Southwest Baptist 97-78. UIndy is the top scoring team in the GLVC averaging nearly 82 points per game and are led in scoring by Trevor Lakes with 15.1 points per outing.
Series vs. UIndy – Lewis holds a 39-34 advantage in the all-time series with the Greyhounds and are 25-11 all-time at Neil Carey Arena. The Hounds won the first meeting of the season earlier this month at Nicoson Hall 82-67.
About Bellarmine – The Knights snapped their two-game losing streak with a 78-65 win over Drury this past Saturday. Bellarmine heads into Thursday's game at Illinois Springfield with a record of 15-2, 8-2 GLVC. The Knights are second in the GLVC in scoring defense holding opponents to under 62 points per game. Alex Cook leads the team in scoring with 15.8 points per outing.
Series vs. Bellarmine – Lewis leads the all-time series with Bellarmine 44-36 but the Knights have won seven of the last 10 including a 56-50 decision in Louisville earlier this month. The Flyers hold a 28-14 lead in the series at Neil Carey Arena.
Up Next – Lewis heads to southwest Missouri next weekend to take on Drury and GLVC newcomer Southwest Baptist. The Flyers and Panthers meet in Springfield next Thursday at 7:45 p.m. and then will head north on Highway 13 to Bolivar on Saturday to take on the Bearcats at 3 p.m.
