Romeoville, Ill., - Lewis outscored Lincoln (MO), 29-23, in the second half to pull away and defeat the Blue Tigers, 56-47, on Saturday afternoon at Neil Carey Arena. The win marks Head Coach Nick Rocco's first career win as Head Coach of the Flyers and improves to 1-6 on the season. 

IMPACT PLAYERS
Arius Alijosius (Riverside, Ill./Riverside-Brookfield) paced Lewis with a game-high 21 points, knocking down four three-pointers while adding nine rebounds, two steals, and two assists. John McCrear (Detroit, Mich./Woodford County) provided a major lift off the bench with eight points, four rebounds, and a block, including two critical dunks in the second half.
 
Drew Fisher (Los Angeles, Calif./Crespi Carmelite High School) added six points, six rebounds, two assists, and an emphatic clutch block in the second half, while Ryan Hall (Kettering, Ohio/Kettering Fairmont) led the Flyers with five assists and added two steals and two points. As a team, the Flyers shot 21-of-61 (.344) from the field, 5-of-23 (.217) from beyond  the arc, and 9-of-14 (.643) at the free throw line. 

Lincoln was led by Solomon Oraegbu, who finished with 10 points and six rebounds, while Malcolm Davis and Enari Thomas each posted eight points. Robin Discamps added nine points off the bench. The Blue Tigers shot 17-of-60 (.283) from the floor and just 4-of-26 (.154) from deep but went 9-of-12 (.750) at the charity stripe. 

HOW IT HAPPENED
Lewis opened the game on a 6-0 burst behind early baskets from Cale Cosme (Chicago, Ill./Brother Rice) and Reid Loewen (Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada/CTA West), but the teams traded defensive stops throughout a physical opening stretch. After Lincoln briefly took its first lead at 10-6, Alijosius answered with his first three-pointer of the afternoon to pull Lewis back within one. 

Alijosius continued to heat up, burying a pair of triples to give Lewis a 16-14 advantage with 9:04 left. The Flyers' bench provided steady support as Timofei Komissarov (St. Petersburg, Russia/GUTID) and Arden Eaves (Tinley Park, Ill./Homewood Flossmoor High School) combined for key contributions, and Alijosius added a jumper with 19 seconds remaining to send Lewis into halftime ahead 27-24. 

Out of the break, Lewis struck quickly as Fisher knocked down two free throws to extend the lead to five. After Lincoln briefly moved back in front, 30-29, the Flyers responded with a decisive run. Alijosius drilled a transition three, then McCrear delivered a jumper and later hammered home a dunk to push the Lewis advantage to 39-30 with 15:56 on the clock. 

Lincoln rallied within three late trimming the margin to 43-40 after a Discamps tip-in and a Thomas jumper, but the Flyers answered with a strong closing stretch. McCrear threw down his second dunk off a feed from Fisher, Hall found Fisher fro a put-back tip-in, and Alijosius knocked down four free throws in the final seconds to seal victory. 

Lewis finished the game on a 13-7 run over the final five minutes to secure the 56-47 win. 

GAME NOTES

• Today marked Coach Rocco's first career win as Head Coach of the Flyers.
• Lewis' 33 bench points marked its highest bench output of the season. 
• The Flyers held Lincoln to 15.4% shooting from three (4-for-26). 
• Alijosius' nine rebounds tied a career high. 
• Cosme, Hall, and Fisher combined for nine steals, helping Lewis force 13 Lincoln turnovers. 
• McCrear's eight points were his most as a Flyer this season. 
• The game featured six lead changes and four ties, all in the first 25 minutes. 
• Lewis is now 1-2 all time against Lincoln (MO).