ROMEOVILLE, Ill. – Lewis University's men's basketball team dropped a 64-56 decision to Michigan Tech on Saturday afternoon at Neil Carey Arena. The Flyers fall to 0-2 on the season while the Huskies move to 1-1.
Lewis started the game fast scoring eight of the first 10 points to take an early six point lead behind four points from
Deon Ejim (Toronto, Canda/TRC Academy) while
Connor Niego (Western Springs, Ill./Lyons Township) and Marquis Jackson added two apiece. The lead grew to as many as 11 at 17-6 on a jumper by
Beau Frericks (Cary, Ill./Cary Grove) with 13:31 remaining in the half.
Michigan Tech chipped away at the lead over the next five minutes closing to within 20-17 on a three-pointer from Eric Carl.
The Flyers countered scoring six of the next eight points to extend its lead back to seven when Niego hit 1-of-2 foul shots at the 5:51 mark.
The Huskies closed the half on a 9-4 run to trim Lewis' lead to 30-28 at the break.
The Flyers shot 39 percent in the opening half from the floor, was 3-of-6 from three but shot only 45 percent at the foul line. Lewis had a 19-17 advantage on the glass. Niego, Ejim and
Bruno Williams (Milwaukee, Wis./Wisconsin Lutheran) combined for 21 points in the frame.
MTU shot 38.5 percent in the stanza, was 4-of-18 from downtown and shot 67 percent at the line. Owen White was the leading scorer for the Huskies with nine points at the half.
Michigan Tech got hot in the second half shooting 65 percent (11-for-17) from the floor, was 7-of-12 from three and led by as many as 13 with 5:11 remaining. Carl and White combined for 30 of the team's 36 points in the stanza and were a combined 10-of-16 from the field including 6-of-10 from the three-point line.
The Flyers made a late run cutting the deficit to five with exactly three minutes to go as
Atakan Sahinkaya (Istanbul, Turkey/Perkiomen School) converted an old fashioned three-point play as part of an 8-0 run. Lewis had a chance to get closer but turned it over with 2:36 left and then Carl delivered the dagger hitting a three to extend the lead back to eight and the Flyers wouldn't get closer than six the rest of the contest.
Lewis struggled shooting the ball in the second making only 9-of-25 shots, shot 20 percent from three and was only 6-for-11 at the charity stripe. The Flyers were outrebounded in the contest 34-27 and forced 12 turnovers which resulted in 12 points.
Niego led Lewis with 15 points and was joined in double figures by Ejim, Sahinkaya and Williams with 10 points apiece. Niego had a team-high eight rebounds.
Carl and White were the game's top scorers as each had 22 points in the contest. Trent Bell had 12 rebounds and Carter Johnston finished with five assists.
The Flyers begin a three-game road trip on Wednesday (Nov. 17) as they head to Detroit, Mich., for a matchup against Wayne State at 6 p.m. (CST).