JOLIET, Ill. -- The Lewis University men's basketball team defeated St. Francis (Ill.) 74-70 Wednesday (Dec. 18).

TEAM RECORDS
Lewis 6-3 | St. Francis (Ill.) 8-2
                    
LEWIS LEADERS vs. USF
Points:  Paxton Warden (Glen Ellyn, Ill./Glenbard West) (20), Ryan Renfro (Glen Ellyn, Ill./U.S. Military Prep) (14), Rob Stroud (Danville, Ill./Kankakee CC) (10)
Rebounds:  Warden (7)
Assists:  Jaylin Gibson (Evanston,IL/Evanston Township) (4)
Steals: Gibson (3)
Blocks: Bartosz Kapustka (Krakow, Poland/Orchard Lake St. Mary's) (3)

GAME SUMMARY
Lewis jumped out to an early 8-0 lead after a three-pointer and a layup by Devon Vanderheydt (Washington, Ill./Washington). USF responded with five unanswered to cut it down to 8-5. 

Moments later, Anthony Sayles, Jr. hit a layup to make it 14-8 with 12 minutes left before the Fighting Saints made a 6-2 run to cut it down to two (16-14) with 10:52 to play in the first half. Lewis knocked down a pair of triples from Warden and Kapustka to extend its lead to 26-21. 

USF looked to crawl back into the contest and made it 30-29 in favor of Lewis with 3:37 remaining in the half. The Flyers closed out the opening half with a 9-2 run giving them a 39-31 lead at the break. 

Lewis used the momentum they had in the first half to start the second with a 7-2 run to cap off a 16-4 spurt capped off by a layup from Stroud to go ahead 46-33 with 17:53 remaining. The Fighting Saints went on a 9-2 run the next three minutes to cut it down to six (48-42).

Lewis regained a double-digit lead after back-to-back layups from Renfro and Gibson which made it 54-44 at the 12:54 mark. USF responded with four straight points to make it a two-possession contest.

Sayles looked to shift momentum over back to the Flyers after converting on the three-point play made it a nine-point lead again. Lewis held the lead the entire game but USF made a late push looking to at least tie it or take the lead. 

Lewis led 74-67 with 47 seconds left then the Fighting Saints cut it down to three (76-73) with two seconds left after making a trifecta. That score would hold as the Flyers won 76-73.

UP NEXT
Lewis will be back in action Saturday, December 21 as the Flyers travel to Kenosha, Wis. for their final contest of 2024 starting at 3 p.m. CT.