ROMEOVILLE, Ill. – Lewis University's men's basketball team returns home this weekend to take on Rockhurst and William Jewell in a pair of GLVC match-ups. The Flyers and Hawks tip-off at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday and Lewis' contest against the Cardinals is slated to begin at 3 p.m. on Saturday afternoon.
Last Time Out – The Flyers upset bid came up short in a 56-50 loss at top ranked Bellarmine this past Saturday.
Dre Bell (Detroit, Mich./River Rouge) led all scorers with 21 points to match his career-high.
Adam Pischke (Cary, Ill./Marian Central Catholic),
Jake Reinhart (Bloomington, Ill./Central Catholic) and
Artese Stapleton (Chicago, Ill./Kenwood) all had six points apiece.
For Whom The Bell Tolls – Bell averaged 19 points and 5.5 rebounds in Lewis' two road contests last weekend. He was 15-of-35 (42.9 percent) from the floor including seven threes. Bell has reached double figures in scoring in seven of his last eight games.
Scouting Rockhurst – The Hawks improved to 7-4 on the season defeating Truman State 56-53 for its third straight win last Saturday. Curtis Lewis and Chris Hamil combined for 31 of Rockhurst's points in the contest. Lewis, who leads the Hawks in scoring with 18.5 points per game, scored 11 of his game-high 17 points in the second half.
Joining Lewis in double figures are Quinton Curry at 14.4 ppg, Nick Volz is adding 14.3 points per outing and Hamil is averaging 12.4 points per contest. Volz and Curry lead the Hawks in rebounding with 7.6 and 7.5 rebounds per game. Lewis also leads the team in assists with 38.
Series vs. Rockhurst – Lewis has won 11 of the 15 meetings against Rockhurst including eight of the last nine. Last season, the Flyers defeated the Hawks 73-70 led by 18 points from
Anthony D'Avanzo (Harwood Heights, Ill./Notre Dame). Pischke finished with 12 points while
Delaney Blaylock (Wyoming, Mich./Godwin Heights) and
Kendale McCullum (Elgin, Ill./Elgin Larkin) added 11 points each and
Donovan Oliver (Kewanee, Ill./Kewanee) had 10 points.
Scouting William Jewell – William Jewell is 6-5 under first year coach Chris McCabe, and 1-2 in the GLVC after splitting home contests with Truman State and Quincy last weekend. The Cardinals are led by Eysan Wiley, who is averaging 18.2 points per game, which is sixth in the conference. Wiley is the leading rebounder in the GLVC with 9.5 per game. Nick Bradley leads the league in steal with 2.55 per game.
Series vs. William Jewell – Saturday's contest marks the eighth meeting all-time between Lewis and William Jewell with the Flyers holding a 5-2 advantage in the series. The Cardinals snapped Lewis' five game winning streak in the series with a 96-92 victory at Neil Carey Arena last season.
Up Next – The Flyers head back out on the road for the first of three beginning next Thursday at Quincy at 7:30 p.m. The road trip continues at Truman State next Saturday at 3 p.m. and concludes the following Monday at Illinois Springfield at 7:30 p.m.
