Romeoville, Ill - The Lewis University men's basketball team fell at home 67-71 against Maryville University this Thursday night.
IMPACT PLAYERS
Ryan Hall's (Kettering, Ohio/Kettering Fairmont) effective 30 points on 9-18 from the field saw him lead the Flyers (4-19, 2-13 GLVC) in scoring, keeping them alive in the game along with his eight rebounds. He was the only player, besides
Arius Alijosius (Riverside, Ill./Riverside-Brookfield) efforts with 13 points, to score double digits for the Flyers. Hall's and Alijosius' performance made up for 43 of Lewis' 67 points.
Cale Cosme (Chicago, Ill./Brother Rice) performance all around the floor also supported Lewis' offensive efforts, as he had an impressive 10 assists and seven rebounds that were very impactful in keeping the Flyers as a close threat to Maryville's lead.
Henry Sanchez led Maryville (3-21, 1-15 GLVC) with 21 points while Kobe Clark secured a 10 rebound, 16 point double-double for the visitors.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Flyers started off to a rough shooting night, scoring their first non free throw points two minutes and 18 seconds into the game, after a three pointer by Alijosius put them up 6-5 against the visitors. Lewis maintained a strong offensive effort through most of the first 10 minutes of the first half, having a comfortable lead that was as large as six points.
Maryville regained control of the offense and began dominating towards the last eight minutes of the first half. A dunk by Maryville's Noah Courtney saw the visitors have an eight point lead over the Flyers, the largest lead through the first 20 minutes of basketball. Although Lewis didn't give up in trying to regain control of the game, they fell short on their efforts and went into the locker rooms trailing, 39-32.
Coming back from halftime break, the visiting team kept their offensive dominance, increasing the lead to as high as 11 points at the 15:46 mark. For the next three minutes, the visiting team went scoreless. During this time, the Flyers took advantage of turnovers and missed shots by the opposing team to gain some points back on the scoreboard. A three pointer by Hall brought the game back to a four point difference, as Hall's point total increased to 18 with 13 minutes to go. Unfortunately, the Flyers' hopes were cut short, as they never regained the lead of the game, and they came as close as a three point difference on the scoreboard in the second half. With a final score of 71-67 in favor of the visitors, the Flyers' record fell to 4-19.
GAME NOTES
- Lewis is now 13-7 against Maryville all-time
- Hall's 30 points are a season-high
- Cosme's 11 assists are a career-high
UP NEXT
The Lewis University men's basketball team will be back in action this Saturday (Feb. 14) to host No. 23 McKendree University at Neil Carey Arena, with tip-off time set at 3:00 p.m.
For the latest news and updates on Lewis men's basketball, visit LewisFlyers.com and follow the Flyers on social media at @lewisflyersmbb on Instagram and @LewisMBBall on X.
