ROMEOVILLE, Ill. – Lewis University's men's basketball overcame a 13-point second half deficit but ultimately fell to Missouri-St. Louis 69-64 on Thursday evening at Neil Carey Arena. The Flyers drop to 6-4 overall and in the GLVC while the Tritons improve to 7-2 overall and in the conference.
The two sides went back and forth over the first 10-plus minutes of the contest as the game was tied at 19 after two free throws from
Connor Niego (Western Springs, Ill./Lyons Township).
UMSL got hot over the next six minutes as it went on a 15-3 run to take its largest lead of the half at 34-22. Shane Wissink and Lawrence Brazil III each hit two threes' in that run.
Lewis scored the final five points of the half to cut the Triton lead to seven heading into halftime.
Things did not start well for the Flyers in the first minute of the second half as UMSL scored six straight points to take its largest lead of the night at 40-27 on a jumper from Wissink.
Lewis battled back thanks to an 18-4 run over the next six and a half minutes to retake the lead at 45-44 on a layup from Niego.
The two sides continued to trade leads over the next eight minutes before Wissink put the Tritons in front for good with a three-pointer from the top of the key in transition.
UMSL's lead grew to five but the Flyers cut it to one after an old fashioned three-point play from
Trevian Bell (Joliet, Ill./Joliet West) with 1:05 remaining.
However, Lewis was unable to get over the hump as the Tritons hit four of six free throws in the final 0:49 seconds and the Flyers missed their final four field goal attempts.
Lewis shot 46 percent (24-for-52) from the floor, was just 4-of-18 from three and shot 67 percent at the foul line. It outscored UMSL 15-11 in points off turnovers and 38-32 in points in the paint.
Bruno Williams (Milwaukee, Wis./Wisconsin Lutheran) finished with a game and career-high 21 points. He was joined in double figures by Niego with 13 points and Bell added 12 points.
The Tritons finished the game shooting 44.8 percent (26-for-58) from the field, was 9-of-25 from beyond the arc and shot 73 percent at the foul line. They outrebounded the Flyers 34-28 and outscored them 15-7 in fast break points.
Jose Grubbs and Marty Jackson each had 17 points to lead UMSL while Wissink finished with 12 points. Jackson also recorded a double-double with his 10 rebounds.
Lewis returns to the court next Thursday (Jan. 21) hosting Southern Indiana at 7:30 p.m.
