Nov. 1, 2004

ROMEOVILLE - The 2004-05 Lewis University men's basketball team makes its debut Wednesday night in Milwaukee, taking on Marquette University in the first of three exhibition games the Flyers will play against NCAA Division I teams.

Game time is 7 p.m. at the Al McGuire Center on the Marquette campus. The game will be the first official men's contest in the facility's 4,000-seat arena and the first men's basketball game between Lewis and Marquette.

First-year head coach Kyle Green's Flyers also will play at Bradley Nov. 12 and at Illinois, the Big Ten defending champion, 2004-05 preseason favorite and owner of the No. 5 preseason national ranking, Nov. 14.

The Marquette game is a homecoming of sorts for Green, who as an assistant coach helped guide last season's Golden Eagles to a 19-12 record and an NIT quarterfinals berth.

"Playing Marquette is a great opportunity for us to get an early feel for where we are and what we need to do to repeat as Great Lakes Valley Conference champions," Green said. "Our players have a great attitude going in, and they're excited about the chance to compete against a team that reached the Final Four two years ago.

"The guys are catching on quickly to our offensive and defensive packages and the terminology that goes with them," Green said. "They're improving every day. The game with Marquette will be a good barometer of how far we've come and how far we still need to go."