ROMEOVILLE, Ill. – Lewis University's men's basketball team shot a season-high 63.5 percent from the floor in its 82-45 win over crosstown rival St. Francis on Thursday evening to pick up their third straight win. The Flyers improve to 3-5 while the Fighting Saints drop to 7-5.

Lewis used a 19-4 run over a seven-minute stretch in the first half to extend its lead to 16 points on a layup from Beau Frericks (Cary, Ill./Cary Grove). That lead eventually grew to 28 points on a fast break dunk by Marquise Jackson (Macon, Ga./Windsor Academy) with less than two minutes to play in the opening half.

The Flyers shot 64.3 percent (18-for-28) in the half, was 4-of-8 from three and shot 67 percent at the foul line. Connor Niego (Western Springs, Ill./Lyons Township) led all scorers with 15 points while Bruno Williams (Milwaukee, Wis./Wisconsin Lutheran) added eight points and Atakan Sahinkaya (Istanbul, Turkey/Perkiomen School) and Frericks had six points apiece.

The two sides traded baskets for the first 10 minutes of the second half as Lewis continued to lead by 25. The Flyers stretched their lead to as many as 38 points at 82-44 on a layup by Anthony Sayles Jr. (Evanston, Ill./Notre Dame College Prep) with less than a minute to play.

Lewis had 12 players score in the contest led by Niego with a game-high 20 points on 9-of-11 shooting including 2-for-2 from three. Sahinkaya added 11 points while Williams and Frericks finished with 10 points apiece. Niego also added a team-high six rebounds to go along with three assists and four steals.

The Flyers were 33-of-52 from the field including 9-for-16 from three while forcing 19 turnovers and had 13 steals. Lewis outscored USF 31-6 in points off turnovers, 38-18 in points in the paint, 15-4 in fast break points and its bench outscored the Fighting Saints bench 43-18.

The Flyer defense allowed a season-low 45 points and held St. Francis to just 31.5 percent shooting (17-for-54) including 2-of-17 from behind the arc. EJ Charles led the Fighting Saints with 10 points while Joey Buggemi added eight points. Reihana Maxwell-Topia and Russell Tillery finished with six points apiece.

Lewis hosts No. 6/16 Ferris State in its final game before the Christmas break next Monday (Dec. 20) at 4 p.m. at Neil Carey Arena.