ROMEOVILLE, Ill. - Lewis was able to hold off a furious Rockhurst rally to defeat the Hawks 78-69 Thursday night in a Great Lakes Valley Conference men's basketball game at Neil Carey Arena. The Flyers move to 7-5 overall, 2-2 in the GLVC, while the Hawks fall to 7-5, 3-1 in the GLVC.
 
Rockhurst scored the game's first five points as it took the Flyers over three minutes to get on the scoreboard with a Brandon McCombs (Jacksonville, Ill./Jacksonville) jumper. It was a 9-4 Hawk lead at the 13:46 mark when Lewis made its run, outscoring the Hawks 19-2 over the next six minutes to take a 23-11 lead.
 
A Donovan Oliver (Kewanee, Ill./Kewanee) three-pointer capped a 29-7 run in all over a 10:13 stretch that made the score 33-16 with 3:33 left in the first half. Another Oliver three made the score 37-20 and by the time the half ended the Flyers built a 41-22 advantage.
 
After an opening Hawk three-pointer to begin the second half, the Flyers answered with eight straight points as Oliver scored five on a three-pointer and a layup and Adam Pischke (Cary, Ill./Marian Central Catholic) drilled a three-pointer to increase the lead to 49-25. The Flyers' largest lead of the game was 54-29 at the 15:54 mark on a layup by McCombs.
 
But an 11-0 run over the next four minutes got Rockhurst back to within 14 points at 54-40. A Dre Bell (Detroit, Mich./River Rouge) long ball stopped the run momentarily, but the Hawks came back with 18 straight points, making it a 32-3 run in less than 10 minutes as Hawks took a 58-57 lead with 6:26 left.
 
An Artese Stapleton (Chicago, Ill./Kenwood) layup gave the Flyers the lead back and they would not relinquish it again. Leading 63-62 with four minutes left, it was Stapleton who led the way for the Flyers down the stretch, scoring the next nine Flyer points. He had back-to-back steals in the final minute of the game, the first with the score 67-66, which led to him converting a conventional three-point play and the second led to two more free throws for a 72-66 lead.
 
Pischke forced a turnover for a third straight possession and sunk the clinching free throws to ice the game.
 
Oliver had 22 points to lead Lewis. Stapleton added 17 points, Bell had 13 points and Anthony D'Avanzo (Harwood Heights, Ill./Notre Dame) had 10 points and 13 rebounds. Lewis shot 48.3 percent (29-of-60) from the floor, while Rockhurst was 43.5 percent (27-of-62).
 
The Flyers are back at home Saturday as they play host to William Jewell at 3 p.m.