ROMEOVILLE, Ill.- Lewis University men's basketball team had five players reach double figures in scoring in its 79-66 win over Rockhurst on Saturday afternoon at Neil Carey Arena. The Flyers improve to 9-8 overall and in the GLVC while the Hawks fall to 8-11 overall and in the conference.
 
The teams traded baskets early in the game but back-to-back baskets by Atakan Sahinkaya (Istanbul, Turkey/Perkiomen School) and Marquise Jackson (Macon, Ga./Windsor Academy) put Lewis up 17-10 halfway through the first.

Rockhurst responded scoring 14 of the next 20 points to regain the lead at 24-23 after back-to-back baskets from Jake Buchanan.
 
The Flyers doubled up the Hawks outscoring them 14-7 over the final six minutes of the stanza to take a 37-31 lead into halftime. Sahinkaya had six points in that run while Marquise Jackson (Macon, Ga./Windsor Academy) chipped in with three while Bruno Williams (Milwaukee, Wis./Wisconsin Lutheran) and Austin Boucher (Fort Wayne, Ind./Fort Wayne North Side) added two points each.

Rockurst opened the second half on a 10-3 run with Curtis Lewis leading the way to go in front 41-40 with exactly 15 minutes to play. It was their first lead since the 6:03 mark of the first half.
 
It didn't last long as Lewis responded with a 9-2 run of its own to take a 49-43 lead and wouldn't relinquish it. The Hawks pulled to within 49-48 after a three from Chris Ham and two Thomas Faber free throws but that would be the closest Rockhurst got the rest of the way.
 
The Flyers used a 12-1 run over a span of 2:27 to push their lead to double digits. The run was capped by an Artese Stapleton (Chicago, Ill./Kenwood) layup. Stapleton had six points in that run while Beau Frericks (Cary, Ill./Cary Grove) and Trevian Bell (Joliet, Ill./Joliet West) added three points apiece.
 
Lewis held on to their double-digit lead over the final 4:31, holding Rockhurst to just 10 points the rest of the way to secure a double-digit victory.
 
The Flyers shot 53.7 percent (29-for-54) from the field, were 3-of-11 from three and shot 62 percent (18-for-29) from the foul line. They outrebounded the Hawks 45-26, had a 44-18 advantage in points in the point and their bench outscored Rockhurst's bench 45-21.
 
Sahinkaya, Stapleton and Bell led Lewis in scoring with 12 points apiece while Jackson added 11 points and Williams finished with 10 points. Stapleton and Sahinkaya each had seven rebounds
 
Hamil and Lewis led the Hawks with 15 points each. Rockhurst shot 36.5 percent (23-for-63) from the field and was 12-for-38 (31.6 percent) from beyond the arc.
 
The Flyers return to the court on Thursday (Feb. 18) as they travel to Bolivar, Mo., to take on Southwest Baptist at 7 p.m.