ST. LOUIS, Mo. - The Lewis University men's basketball team won its third Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament title and seventh conference title overall on Sunday (March 7), defeating Drury 76-71 at the Mark Twain Building for its fifth straight victory. The Flyers, seeded fifth in the tournament, move to 14-9 on the season, while the No. 6 seed Panthers end the season 11-10.

With the win the Flyers clinched an automatic berth into the NCAA Division II Tournament, where they will compete in the Midwest Regional at the Ford Center in Evansville, Ind., beginning next Saturday (March 13). The pairings will be released tonight at 9:30 p.m. on NCAA.com.

Drury opened the scoring with a three-pointer, but that would be its only lead of the game as Bruno Williams (Milwaukee, Wis./Wisconsin Lutheran) evened the score with a three-pointer and then an Artese Stapleton (Chicago, Ill./Kenwood) three-ball gave the Flyers the 6-3 advantage. 

The Flyers built their lead up to seven at 14-7 on a layup by Brandon McCombs (Jacksonville, Ill./Jacksonville), but Drury answered with seven straight points to tie the game at 14-14 with 9:19 remaining.

Lewis answered back with eight straight points as Dre Bell (Detroit, Mich./River Rouge) and Williams each hit three-pointers and Connor Niego (Western Springs, Ill./Lyons Township) hit a jumper.

After the teams exchanged a couple of baskets, the Flyers went on a 9-0 run to extend their lead to 36-19 before a Drury three-pointer made it a 36-22 score at the half.

Drury battled back early in the second half and got to within nine points at 41-32 with 17:11 left in the game. Three Niego free throws and a Bell three-pointer helped build the Flyer lead back to 13 points at 47-34 with 15:18 remaining.

The Panthers again chipped away at the lead and pulled to within six points with 9:46 remaining.

Lewis briefly regained its double digit lead at 59-49 on a three-pointer by Williams before Drury got it to four points with 4:15 left at 65-61.

Drury pulled to within three points at 69-66 with 2:34 left, but Bell answered the ensuing possession with a three to pull Lewis back up by six. Drury responded with a layup to make it 72-68 with 1:26 remaining.

Stapleton then beat the shot clock with a basket with 54 seconds left to give the Flyers a 74-68 advantage before another three-pointer from Drury made it 74-71 with 45 seconds left.

A Lewis turnover gave the Panthers an opportunity to tie the game, but a strong defensive possession led to a difficult jumper that was off target and went out of bounds. 

Bell added a pair of free throws to clinch the Flyers' first GLVC tournament title since 2016.

Williams tallied 19 points to lead Lewis, while GLVC Tournament MVP Stapleton had 15 points, Bell tallied 14 and GLVC All-Tournament Team member Niego added 13 points and 13 rebounds.

The Flyers shot 50.9 percent (27-of-53) for the game, while Drury was 43.1 (25-of-58). Lewis held a 39-21 rebounding edge.