ROMEOVILLE, Ill. – Lewis University's men's basketball team outscored Drury 49-34 in the second half to overcome a nine-point halftime deficit in its 78-72 win over the Panthers on Thursday evening at Neil Carey Arena. The Flyers improve to 12-8, 10-3 GLVC while Drury drops to 8-13, 5-8 GLVC.
Lewis opened the game on a 6-0 run getting two dunks and a layup but the Panthers came back with an 11-3 run to take an 11-9 lead on a layup by Riley Naeger with 14:32 remaining in the half. The two sides exchanged leads over the next 4:35 but Drury still led 19-18 just past the halfway point of the stanza.
The Panthers got hot over the next four-plus minutes as they went on a 12-2 run to build their largest lead of the half at 31-20 after a three-pointer from Obi Okafor.
The Flyers were able to get the lead back to single digits just before the half after
Connor Niego (Western Springs, Ill./Lyons Township) hit 1-of-2 at the foul line.
Drury extended its lead to its largest of the night at 41-29 on the first possession of the second half as he converted a three-point play.
Lewis chipped away at the lead and got it to 46-40 after a three-pointer from
Dre Bell (Detroit, Mich./River Rouge) with 16:24 to play.
The Panthers answered on the other end as Malek Davis answered Bell's three with one of his own to push the margin back to nine.
The Flyers countered with an 11-3 run over the next 4:30 minutes to cut Drury's lead to 52-51 after a steal and score from
Atakan Sahinkaya (Istanbul, Turkey/Perkiomen School). Drury pushed its lead back to five after Dillon Carlson hit a pair of free throws with 8:44 left.
Lewis came back thanks to a 16-2 run over the next 5:22 to take its largest lead of the half at 70-61 with 3:22 remaining. Bell had eight points in the game deciding run while
Kawanise Wilkins (Chicago, Ill./Farragut) added four and Niego and
Beau Frericks (Cary, Ill./Cary Grove) chipped in with two each.
Drury got as close as five after a three-pointer from Quenton Shelton with 1:04 to go. The Flyers were able to hold off the late charge from the Panthers hitting five of their final six free throws before Drury got a bucket from Okafor with 0:04 left for the final margin.
Lewis shot 51 percent (27-for-53) in the contest despite making only 4-of-17 attempts from beyond the arc and shot 71 percent at the foul line. It outrebounded the Panthers 34-25 and turned 14 Drury turnovers into 15 points.
Bell finished with a game-high 23 points, 17 in the second half, while Niego added 21 points and 10 rebounds and Sahinkaya finished with 14 points to go along with five assists.
The Panthers also shot 51 percent (26-for-51) in the game and were 9-of-20 from three but shot only 65 percent at the foul line. Okafor led four Drury players in double figures with 21 points. He was joined by Davis and Carlson with 12 apiece and Victor Nwagbarachoa added 11 points.
The Flyers continue their three-game homestand this Saturday (Feb. 19) hosting Southwest Baptist at 3 p.m. SBU extended its win streak to seven with a 75-57 win at Illinois Springfield on Thursday evening.
