ROMEOVILLE, Ill. – The Lewis University men's basketball team started quick and never looked back as it defeated Indianapolis 85-71 Thursday (Dec. 2) in its Great Lakes Valley Conference opener at Neil Carey Arena. The Flyers are now 1-5 overall, 1-0 in the GLVC, while the Greyhounds are 4-3 overall, 1-1 in the GLVC.
 
Lewis scored the first 15 points of the game over the opening 5:35 of the contest behind five points each from Connor Niego (Western Springs, Ill./Lyons Township) and Deon Ejim (Toronto, Canda/TRC Academy). The Greyhounds got back to within nine points at 17-8, but a three-pointer by Beau Frericks (Cary, Ill./Cary Grove) on the ensuing possession regained the double digit lead, which it would remain for the rest of the game.
 
The Flyers built their lead up to as many as 17 points in the first half after a jumper by Frericks gave them a 37-20 advantage before settling for a 37-22 lead at the half.
 
Bruno Williams (Milwaukee, Wis./Wisconsin Lutheran) opened the second half with a three-pointer to extend the lead to 18 and after a Greyhound free throw, an Ejim layup extended the lead to 19 at 42-23. The lead moved to 20 points briefly before Indianapolis cut it to 49-34 with 14:50 left.
 
But six straight Flyer points made it 55-34 with 13:09 left. The lead was later extended to 22 points and then 24 at 65-41 with 8:32 remaining on a three-pointer by Marquise Jackson (Macon, Ga./Windsor Academy). The Flyers maintained a 20-point lead until the final 3:04 but could get no closer than 14 points.
 
Williams had 22 points, seven rebounds and three steals, while Niego totaled 19 points and 11 rebounds to lead Lewis. Frericks had 13 points and Jackson added nine points and five assists for the Flyers.
 
Lewis shot 48.2 percent (27-of-56) from the floor and 83.3 percent (20-of-24) at the line, while the Greyhounds were 44.6 percent (25-of-56) from the floor and 50 percent (13-of-26) from the free throw line. The Flyers forced 14 turnovers, while committing just nine for the contest.
 
The Flyers travel to take on McKendree at 3 p.m. Saturday.