Bowling Green State University Athletics
Ron Lewis: BGSU Scholar-Athlete Of The Week
March 17, 2003 | Men's Basketball
March 17, 2003
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - Ron Lewis is the Bowling Green State University Scholar-Athlete of the Week. Lewis, a freshman on the BGSU men's basketball team, averaged a team-high 29.0 points as the Falcons went 1-1 in MAC Tournament action to close the 2002-03 season.
Lewis, a native of Columbus, Ohio, had 28 points and added eight rebounds as the Falcons opened the tourney with a 90-81 road win at Ball State. In that game, Lewis established MAC tournament records for free throws made (22) and attempted (25) as the Falcons also established new MAC postseason marks of 37 FT's made and 43 attempted.
Lewis' 22 free throws made also broke a 39-year school record of 21 free throws made, set by Howard Komives on March 7, 1964 against Marshall.
Then, Lewis scored a career-high 30 points in the quarterfinal round, an 87-70 loss to eventual tourney champion Central Michigan. With his 15-of-18 performance from the line in that game, Lewis established overall tournament records for free throws made (37) and attempted (43). Ball State's Dan Palombizio made 25 free throws in 1985 and Brandon Hunter attempted 32 in 2001.
In the first MAC Tournament games of his career, his two-game total (58 points) fell just three points shy of the event's two-game scoring record of 61 shared by CMU's Dan Majerle in 1987 and EMU's Grant Long in 1988.
On the season, Lewis averaged 12.5 points per game, and raised his scoring average three points over the final eight games. During the last four games of the season, Lewis averaged 23.5 points. He led the team with 149 free throws made and is 10th on the school's all-time career FT pct. list at 79.7.
Lewis is the first freshman to lead the Falcons in rebounds (145/5.0 rpg) since Anthony Stacey led BGSU in the 1995-96 season. His 351 points scored is the fourth highest for a BGSU freshman behind Stacey (433, 1995-96), Colin Irish (375 in 1979-80) and Antonio Daniels (354 in 1993-94). His 149 free throws made is the most ever by a Falcon freshman. He finished second on the team in assists (73) and steals (36).
Lewis, a computer science major, has a 3.00 cumulative grade point average through the fall, 2002, semester.
The Falcons ended the season with a 13-16 record. The Brown and Orange lost three players to season-ending injuries during the 2002-03 campaign. BGSU loses just one senior, Cory Ryan, off the squad.
