ROMEOVILLE, Ill – The Lewis University men's basketball team finished the regular season with an 81-58 win over Maryville Saturday (Feb. 27) in a Great Lakes Valley Conference contest at Neil Carey Arena. The Flyers finish the regular season at 11-9 overall and in the GLVC, while the Saints finish their campaign at 8-12 overall and in the GLVC.
With the win, Lewis is fifth seed in next week's GLVC Tournament and will travel to Lebanon, Ill., to take on the fourth seeded McKendree Bearcats on Wednesday (March 3) at 6 p.m. The Flyers and Bearcats split the season series back in December. Lewis won 78-63 on Dec. 18 and McKendree won 70-52 on the following day.
The two teams traded baskets throughout the first eight minutes of the first half, with the Saints gaining as big of a lead as three points at 17-14 with 12:33 left in the half. The Flyers answered with a 12-0 run to take control of the game 26-17 and never trailed again.
Vlado Zrnic (Greendale, Wis./Greendale) tallied five points during the run.
Maryville pulled back to within four points at 30-26, but a three-pointer by
Billy Durkin (Darien, Ill./Hinsdale South) and a pair of layups by
Artese Stapleton (Chicago, Ill./Kenwood) ended the half for the Flyers on a 7-0 run and with a 37-26 lead.
The Saints opened with the first five points of the second half before a
Brandon McCombs (Jacksonville, Ill./Jacksonville) jumper pushed the lead back to eight at 39-31. After another Saints basket the Flyers went on a 15-4 run to move ahead 54-37 with 10:47 remaining.
Trevian Bell (Joliet, Ill./Joliet West) helped ignite the run with a pair of three-pointers.
Lewis was able to maintain a double digit lead the remainder of the game as the closest Maryville would get would be 57-47 with 7:30 remaining. The Flyers came right back with nine straight points to extend the lead to 66-47 with 4:55 left on a Stapleton jumper to put the game out of reach.
Stapleton finished the game with 17 points, while
Dre Bell (Detroit, Mich./River Rouge) and Zrnic tallied 12 points each. McCombs added nine rebounds for the Flyers, who held a 32-23 edge on the glass.
The Flyers shot 54.2 percent (32-of-59) from the floor, while the Saints were 47.9 percent (23-of-48). Lewis forced 22 turnovers in the contest, while committing just 12.
