ROMEOVILLE, Ill. – Lewis' men's basketball team erased a nine-point second half deficit but came up short in a 70-65 loss to McKendree on Thursday evening at Neil Carey Arena. The Flyers drop to 13-12, 8-9 GLVC while the Bearcats improve to 13-12, 8-9 GLVC.

Lewis led by as many as six in the opening half before taking a five-point lead into the locker room on Brandon McCombs (Jacksonville, Ill./Jacksonville) dunk in the closing seconds of the half.

McKendree opened the second half on a 12-2 run over the first 3:45 to build a five-point cushion after a three-pointer by Bryson Bultman with 16:14 to play.

The Flyers responded with back-to-back three's from Adam Pischke (Cary, Ill./Marian Central Catholic) and Dre Bell (Detroit, Mich./River Rouge) to regain the lead at 39-38 1:15 later.

The Bearcats answered right back with a 17-6 run over the next 4:30 minutes to build its largest lead of the night at 54-45 on a jumper from Jacob Donaldson with 8:29 remaining.

Lewis ran off nine straight points of its won over the next 4:29 to tie the score at 55 on a layup from McCombs with an assist from Marco Pettinato (Mokena, Ill./Lincoln-Way West).

McKendree went back in front at 58-55 on a free throw from Oliver Stephen and a dunk from Jakobie Robinson but the Flyers answered on the other end as Bell hit another three to even things back up.

Logan Kohrmann gave the Bearcats the lead for good as he converted an old fashioned three-point play with exactly 2:00 to go.

McCombs brought Lewis back to within 61-60 with a dunk on the ensuing possession but Kohrmann hit another big shot to push the lead back to three.

The Flyers had a chance to get back within one but Anthony D'Avanzo (Harwood Heights, Ill./Notre Dame) was called for basket interference after a miss by Artese Stapleton (Chicago, Ill./Kenwood) with less than a minute to play.

Lewis needed a stop on the other end but as the shot clock was winding down Stephen hit a three-pointer from the left wing to make it a six-point game.

The Flyers came back on the other end as McCombs scored quickly but four straight free throws by the Bearcats sealed it. Stapleton hit a three-pointer with 1.2 seconds remaining for the final score.

McKendree shot 50 percent (14-for-28) from the field in the second half and finished at 43 percent (24-of-56) for the game. It was 9-for-27 from three and shot 87 percent at the foul line. It outrebounded Lewis 35-to-29.

Kohrmann led three Bearcats in double digit scoring with 23 points while Bultman added 14 off the bench and Aleksa Popovic added 10.

Lewis shot 46 percent (28-for-61) from the floor in the contest but was only 6-of-20 from three and shot just 60 percent at the foul line. It had 18 assists on those 28 made field goals and forced 14 turnovers.

Stapleton led four Flyers in double figures with 18 points while Bell finished with 13, McCombs added 12 and D'Avanzo dropped in 11. D'Avanzo had a game-high 10 rebounds and also handed out six assists.

Lewis begins a three-game road trip on Saturday traveling to Southern Indiana to take on the Screaming Eagles at 3:35 p.m.