ROMEOVILLE, Ill.— Drury rallied in the second half, but Lewis' first half lead was too much for the Panthers to overcome as the Flyers opened the league schedule with a 75-64 win on Thursday in Romeoville, Illinois.
 
Drury dropped to 5-1 and 0-1 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference, while Lewis went to 2-3 and 1-0 in the GLVC.
 
The Flyers held the Panthers to 20 percent shooting in the first half to take a 45-22 lead at halftime. Drury was still down 23 three minutes into the second half but started to chip away. Free throws from Logan Applegate cut Lewis' lead to eight, 58-50, with 7:02 remaining. The Panthers forced a turnover, then Applegate connected on a three-pointer that brought Drury within five, 58-53.
 
Drury could get no closer, however, and the Flyers hit free throws down the stretch to push the lead back to double-digits.
 
Quenton Shelton led Drury with 18 points, scoring all of them in the second half. Applegate and Elijah Whitely both added 11.
 
Lewis guard Jamere Hill led all scorers with 28 points and scored 17 of his team's 30 points in the second half.
 
The Panthers outscored Lewis 42-30 in the second half.
 
The Flyers had a 46-29 advantage in rebounding. Lewis forward Ryan Refroe had 15 boards for the Flyers.
 
Drury forward Juok Riak, the team's leading scorer averaging 16.7 points, was removed from the game with 8:02 left in the first half for a flagrant foul.
 
The Panthers continue their road trip on Saturday at Indianapolis for a 2 pm (Central) start.
 
 
#allweDUiswin