Anthony Scala (left) battles Mike Kelsey

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - The last time Northern Kentucky University and Lewis squared off in Regents Hall, it took three overtimes to decide a winner.

But unlike last February’s 93-90 triple-overtime victory over Lewis, there were no last-second dramatics available for NKU on Thursday night. That’s because the night - and, specifically, the second half - belonged to Lewis senior guard Anthony Scala, who led the Flyers to a 75-68 win over NKU with an amazing long-range shooting performance.

Scala unleashed a barrage of three-point shots - many of which were launched from at least 25 feet while fading away - against NKU and scored a game-high 32 points to rally the Flyers to the victory. Scala finished 8-for-16 from behind the arc, and he scored 24 points in the second half as Lewis improved to 4-4 overall, 1-4 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference.

NKU (5-3 overall, 2-3 GLVC) took a 38-30 lead to the locker room at halftime, and the Norse did it by shooting 58.3 percent from the field. After Derek Smith gave NKU a 40-30 lead early in the second half, Scala went to work.

He sparked a 14-0 run early in the second half with 11 points as Lewis built a 50-44 lead with 12:12 left in the game. Lewis eventually forged a 13-point advantage (65-52) on a layup by Steve Turner, but NKU battled back with nine straight points and cut the deficit to 65-61 on a free throw by Smith with 2:45 remaining.

Derek Smith looks for an opening

Scala, however, halted the comeback when he drained a three-pointer from 25 feet to give the Flyers a 68-61 advantage with 2:31 remaining. His shooting performance enabled Lewis to snap an 11-game losing streak in Regents Hall against NKU.

The Flyers had not posted a road victory at NKU since a 97-88 win on Feb. 11, 1993.

“He was in one of those shooting zones tonight. It’s the first time he’s done that against us,” NKU head coach Dave Bezold said of Scala. “He made tough shots. A lot of times we were in the correct spots defensively and the kid just hit tough shot after tough shot. And when we thought we were back in the game, he hit another three.

“To his credit, he stepped up and made shots in the second half. They worked harder than we did in the second half to win the game. We didn’t make the plays. We had seniors who had the shot, had the opportunity to make plays, and they didn’t do it.”

Scala made six three-point shots in the second half, and he finished 11-for-21 from the field.

“He was in the zone. He’s a good shooter. I guarded him most of the game, and obviously I didn’t do a good enough job,” NKU’s Mike Kelsey said. “Some of the shots he was hitting were tough shots. You just have to hand it to him because he made them.

“He hit tough shots, and I have to do a better job on defense. We as a team need to do better on defense.”

Smith led NKU with 18 points and seven rebounds. Harrison Morton added 14 points, while Kelsey finished with 13 points.

NKU, however, shot just 43.5 percent from the field in the second half and made just one three-pointer in 10 attempts during the final 20 minutes.

DeAndre Williams scored 11 points and dished out six assists for Lewis, while Turner added 10 points.

NKU will play host to Southern Illinois at Edwardsville at 3:15 p.m. Saturday. The Cougars lead the GLVC with a 3-0 record and are 8-2 overall. SIUE owns a seven-game win streak entering Saturday.

SIUE swept NKU last season, and the Cougars pulled out a 66-65 win over the Norse in Regents Hall when Calvin Sykes banked in a 40-foot heave at the buzzer.