Lewis Men’s Hoops Puts Defensive Clamps On Olivet Nazarene For 68-46 Victory

Bourbonnais, Ill. – The Lewis University men’s basketball team held Olivet Nazarene to just three field goals over the final 11 minutes and finished the game with a 24-9 run, as the visiting Flyers earned the 68-46 non-conference victory over the Tigers at McHie Arena on Saturday (Dec. 18) afternoon.
  
The Flyers limited ONU to a 29.8% (14-for-47) shooting performance from the floor, including a 16-point first half by the Tigers. ONU did not post a score until the 14:34 mark of the opening stanza, as Lewis had already built an 11-0 advantage.
  
“I thought we did a lot of good things today, especially on defense,” Lewis head men’s basketball coach Scott Trost said. “We contested shots and we did a nice job on a team that’s pretty hard to guard.”
  
With the win, Lewis improves to 7-5 on the campaign, while the Tigers drop to 7-7 overall.
  
Lewis junior forward Matt Toth (Orland Park, Ill./Sandburg) came off the bench to score a game-high 14 points on 7-for-9 shooting, while sophomore guard David Bryant (Batavia, Ill./Batavia) contributed 13 points.
  
Flyer center Marty Strus (Hickory Hills, Ill./Stagg) chipped in 10 points and five rebounds, while junior forward Jerome Robinson (Skokie, Ill./St. Patrick/Morton College) hauled in a game-high 11 boards.
  
Lewis enjoyed a sizeable advantage on the glass, as the Flyers out-rebounded ONU, 41-25. That performance led to a 34-4 points in the paint advantage for the Flyers and a 24-11 second-chance points advantage.
  
ONU guard Cory Hainlen scored all of his team-best 10 points in the second half for the Tigers.
   Lewis returns to action on December 30th, as the Flyers welcome Trinity Christian to Neil Carey Arena for a 7:30 p.m. (CST) tip-off.