There’s still some magic inside Whalen Gymnasium.
Trailing by 11 points with 11 minutes, 28 seconds to go, the Fort Lewis College men’s basketball team dug deep in dire need of a win after two home losses a weekend ago to No. 20 UC-Colorado Springs and unranked CSU-Pueblo. Friday night’s foe was as tough as they come, as No. 9 and perennial powerhouse Metro State (21-4, 16-3 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) was in the building.
The Skyhawks’ defense buckled down and began to get stops, and FLC senior center Alex Herrera put a stamp on a legacy game in front of a raucous crowd with 20 points and 12 rebounds, as FLC rallied to take down the Roadrunners 68-64.
It was a huge win for the Skyhawks (18-7, 13-6 RMAC) to stay in the hunt for a home game in the conference tournament. It also helped Colorado Mines’ (21-3, 17-3 RMAC) chance of earning at least a share of the regular season RMAC title with three games to play in the regular season.
The Skyhawks were motivated for the contest, especially after a 87-51 blowout loss at Metro State back on Jan. 17.
“It was very important, not only being Metro but trying to make a run here at the end of the year and get that home game back,” Herrera said. “We just gotta keep this run going.”
The win came two days shy of the two-year anniversary of head coach Bob Hofman’s FLC team beating then No. 1 and unbeaten Metro State inside Whalen Gymnasium. It was the first time since that game FLC planned a white-out with fans in white T-shirts trying to give the team a home-court advantage, something FLC hasn’t had much of this season.
“Our backs were against the wall after last weekend,” FLC associate head coach Bob Pietrack said. “We knew we had to play just with a lot of heart and a lot of enthusiasm and passion. The Whalen has a little magic left after all.”
Herrera hardly did it alone. Junior guard Jared Smith hit a big corner 3 in front of an overjoyed student section to give FLC a 59-56 lead with less than 2 minutes to play. It was a big shot for a player who has struggled offensively this season.
“Coach and everybody on the team have just been telling me to be confident in my shot. I’ve kind of struggled recently, but no one has told me to stop shooting,” Smith said. “Everyone is behind me telling me be ready to shoot it. I appreciate that, and that gave me the confidence to knock it down.”
Rasmus Bach went 8-of-8 from the free-throw line down the stretch, and Cade Kloster came up with a big rebound on a Metro State missed 3 and made two free throws with 17 seconds remaining to keep FLC’s lead at 66-61 with 17 seconds to play.
“Just heart and practice,” Bach said of what it took to make the late free throws. “I shoot a lot of free throws all the time after practice. Coach is always in my ear saying ‘we don’t miss free throws down the stretch.’”
Metro State hit two big corners 3s late trailing by five points, but FLC wouldn’t give up anything down the stretch, as they finished 21-of-29 from the free-throw line.
Kloster, who scored 17 points, played a huge role in keeping FLC in the game in the first half, a half dominated by the Roadrunners. The junior guard from Longmont found another gear to get FLC over the hump.
“We wanted to come out with a lot of energy. Last time we played them at their place they went on a run and we didn’t have the energy to keep up with them,” Kloster said. “They played a great game, and we had to come with energy as a team, play together and work as a group.”
FLC was shorthanded without senior guard Lucas Archuleta, who was out with an illness. Sophomore guard Will Morse stepped up and played 31 minutes and scored 10 points and turned the ball over only once against a stout Metro State defense.
“Great job for Will. He was very poised, we thought he showed great leadership, and that’s what we’re going to need from Will,” Pietrack said.
Metro State was in foul trouble the entire second half, as Herrera kept forcing the issue with mismatches in the paint. Herrea had 14 points, seven rebounds and two blocked shots in the second half alone.
“We stuck to our gameplan the whole time. It worked out eventually, and we wore them out a little bit,” Herrera said.
FLC held Metro State senior guard Mitch McCarron to nine points, all of which came in the first half. Holding him scoreless in the second half was a coup for the Skyhawks.
“We threw the whole kitchen sink at him. He’s a great player, an All-American, no question about that,” Pietrack said. “He scorched us so bad in Denver, he was obviously the focus of our gameplan. We made him take some tougher shots than we did in Denver, and we were fortunate to get some misses.”
Metro State shot 51.9 percent in the first half but cooled down to 35.7 percent in the second half. The Roadrunners were led by Nicholas Kay’s 18 points and nine rebounds. He also had five assists. Eric Rayer added 10 points, and Will Sinclair had 12.
FLC outrebounded Metro State 30-29, a huge improvement from their loss at Metro State.
The Skyhawks now have knocked off two top-10 teams at home this season, with a win against No. 8 Colorado Mines earlier in the season.
FLC will turn around to play Regis at 7:30 p.m. Saturday on senior night. The team badly wants to win for Archuleta, who will not be able to play, as well as Herrera, who may be playing in his final home game at Whalen Gymnasium.
“It means everything to me,” Herrea said of playing at FLC. “Fort Lewis has been great to me, the coaches, the players. It’s going to be real emotional for me (Saturday).”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
