ROMEOVILLE, Ill. – The Lewis University men's basketball team is heading into the holiday break with a win, defeating Wisconsin Parkside 74-72 Tuesday (Dec. 19) at Neil Carey Arena. Jamere Hill's (Joliet, Ill./Joliet West) layup with nine seconds remaining gave Lewis the victory.
 
TEAM RECORDS
Lewis 5-5 | Parkside 6-5 
 
LEWIS LEADERS
Points: Gary Solomon (Eastpointe, Mich.) (23), Rob Stroud (Danville, Ill.) (14), Beau Frericks (Cary, Ill./Cary Grove) (12), Hill (12)
Rebounds: Ryan Renfro (Glen Ellyn, Ill./U.S. Military Prep) (9), Frericks (7)
Assists: Solomon (4), Renfro (4)
 
SUMMARY
Lewis jumped out early to a 7-3 lead and pushed the lead to 13-8 on a Solomon dunk on an assist from Hill at the 12:53 mark of the first half.
 
Six straight points gave the Rangers their first lead of the game at 14-13, but a pair of free throws from Rob Stroud (Danville, Ill.) put the Flyers back on top. The two teams traded leads until a 7-0 spurt from Parkside put it in front 23-17 with seven minutes left in the half.
 
A Solomon jumper stopped the run momentarily, but the Rangers were able to build their lead to 28-21 with 4:39 left. Baskets by Cem Kirciman (Bursa, Turkey/Wisconsin-Green Bay) and Solomon cut the lead back to three, but Parkside finished the half with the next five points to take a 33-25. A jumper from Hill and a driving layup by Marieon Anderson (Rock Island, Ill./Rock Island) beat the buzzer to give the Flyers some momentum at the half, trailing 33-29.
 
The Flyers added the first six points of the second half to make it a 10-0 spurt for a 37-33 advantage. They would maintain the lead until the 12:24 mark when a jumper gave the Rangers a 46-45 lead.
 
Parkside built its lead to as many as six points in the second half on two occasions, the last being 65-59 with 7:15 remaining. Stroud followed with a three-pointer to cut the lead in half and a pair of baskets by Hill made it a one point deficit at 67-66 with 4:42 left.
 
After a Ranger basket, Solomon connected on four free throws to pull Lewis ahead 70-69 with 2:52 remaining. The Rangers answered with a three-pointer to retake the lead with 1:28 left, but a Stroud dunk evened the score with 1:09 left.
 
A missed shot from Parkside set up Hill's driving layup with nine second left for the winning basket. Help defense on the final possession of the game forced a missed jumper for Parkside at the buzzer.

UP NEXT
The Flyers head north to the upper penninsula of Michigan to take on Lake Superior State Dec. 30 at 2 p.m.