LEBANON, Ill. – Lewis University's men's basketball team picked up its second straight victory defeating McKendree 78-62 on Saturday afternoon at Harry Statham Court in Lebanon, Ill. The Flyers improve to 2-5, 2-0 GLVC while the Bearcats drop to 4-2, 1-2 GLVC.

The first half went back-and-forth over the first 14 minutes as Lewis trailed 19-18 after a layup by Milos Vicentic.

The Flyers answered scoring five straight points getting two free throws from Beau Frericks (Cary, Ill./Cary Grove) and a three-pointer from Bruno Williams (Milwaukee, Wis./Wisconsin Lutheran) to take a 23-19 lead at the under four minute media timeout.
McKendree countered with five straight of its own, all on one possession, Oliver Stephen hit two free throws after a technical foul and then Stephen buried a three to give the Bearcats their final lead of the contest at 24-23.

Lewis closed the half strong outscoring McKendree 9-2 over the final three minutes of the stanza to take a 32-26 lead into the locker room at halftime.

The Flyers extended their lead to 13 points early in the second half on a jumper from Williams.

McKendree got as close as 49-47 on a jumper from Bryson Bultman with 7:17 to play but Austin Boucher (Fort Wayne, Ind./Fort Wayne North Side) answered on the ensuing possession hitting a three to extend the lead to five.

The Bearcats made one last surge getting to within three at the 4:16 mark but Lewis scored eight straight points in the span of 2:08 to extend its lead back to double digits on a pair of free throws from Williams.

The Flyers put the game away hitting nine of 10 free throws in the final two minutes and got dunks from Connor Niego (Western Springs, Ill./Lyons Township) and Marquise Jackson (Macon, Ga./Windsor Academy) to seal the win.

Lewis shot 44.4 percent (24-for-54) from the field, shot a season-high 10-of-15 from three (67 percent) and shot 71 percent (20-for-28) from the free throw line. It outrebounded McKendree 33-32 and forced 12 turnovers while turning it over just five times itself.

Niego led the Flyers with 20 points and 11 rebounds and he was joined in double figures by Williams with 18 points while Atakan Sahinkaya (Istanbul, Turkey/Perkiomen School) had 12 points and nine boards. Boucher, Williams and Frericks had three assists apiece.

The Bearcats were held to 39 percent shooting (17-of-44) from the floor, were 6-of-21 from three and shot 67 percent at the foul line. Bultman finished with a game-high 24 points while Aleksandar Davitkov finished with 11 points.

Lewis is back in action next Thursday (Dec. 16) as they take on crosstown rival St. Francis at 7 p.m. at Neil Carey Arena.