ROMEOVILLE, Ill. – Rust, what rust? Lewis University's men's basketball team, playing its first game in nearly month, extended its win streak to five with a 76-68 win over Lindenwood on Monday evening at Neil Carey Arena. The Flyers improve to 5-5, 3-0 GLVC while the Lions drop to 6-9, 2-5 GLVC.

The first half was the Atakan Sahinkaya (Istanbul, Turkey/Perkiomen School) and Anthony Sayles Jr. (Evanston, Ill./Notre Dame College Prep) show as the duo combined to score 28 of the team's 42 points and were a combined 11-of-13 from the floor including 4-of-6 from three.

The Flyers led by seven early but Lindenwood went on a 9-0 run to take its first lead of the contest at 11-9 on Romelo Burrell with 13:04 left in the opening half.

After Marquis Jackson tied the game, Sayles Jr. put Lewis back in front hitting a three-pointer with less than 12 minutes to play in the half.

The Lions countered with five straight of its own getting a bucket from Brandon Trimble and a three from Kevin Caldwell Jr. to retake its final lead of the contest.

The Flyers dominated the final 9:36 of the half as they outscored Lindenwood 28-9 to take a 42-25 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Sayles Jr. had 11 points in that run while Sahinkaya added nine more.

Lewis opened the second half on a 13-5 run to extend its lead to its largest of the contest at 55-30 after Connor Niego (Western Springs, Ill./Lyons Township) hit 2-of-3 free throws 4:09 into the frame.

The Flyers still led by 21 with 8:15 remaining after Bruno Williams (Milwaukee, Wis./Wisconsin Lutheran) hit two free throws but Lewis went cold over the next six minutes and the Lions took advantage with a 19-3 run to cut the lead to 64-59 after Jacoby Ross hit a layup on the break. He was also fouled on the play but missed the ensuing free throw to keep the lead at five.

Dre Bell (Detroit, Mich./River Rouge) hit a big three on the next possession with the shot clock winding down to extend the lead back to eight. That three was part of a push that saw Lewis extend its lead back to double digits with less than a minute to go.

Lindenwood wouldn't go quietly cutting the Flyer lead to five with just 0:29 left but Lewis hit 3-of-4 free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.

The Flyers finished the contest shooting 46 percent (24-for-52) from the field including 8-of-21 from three and shot 77 percent at the foul line. They outrebounded the Lions 37-34 and their bench outscored Lindenwood's by six points.

Sahinkaya led four Lewis players in double figures with 19 points and was joined by Sayles Jr. with 15 while Williams and Bell added 14 and 13 points respectively. Sahinkaya recorded a double-double with a game-high 12 rebounds. Jackson finished with a team-high three assists.

The Lions shot 42 percent (27-for-64) from the floor, were 9-of-26 from three and shot 63 percent at the foul line. Ross led all scorers with 20 points and he was joined in double figures by Trimble with 13 while Caldwell Jr., had 12 and Burrell and Brandon Suggs finished with 10 points apiece.

The Flyers begin a three-game road trip traveling to Indianapolis on Thursday to take on the Greyhounds at 6:30 p.m. (CST).