GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — The Fort Lewis College men's basketball team notched its biggest road win of the season Friday, erasing a 10-point second half deficit to grind out an 83-77 thriller over rival Colorado Mesa University in front of a packed crowd at Brownson Arena.
The victory snapped a mini four-game losing skid to the Mavericks (15-8 overall, 9-5 RMAC), which entered the evening third in the RMAC standings, and was a much-needed "get right" game for the Skyhawks (10-6 overall, 6-4 RMAC) after they had to settle for a split on their home floor last weekend.
“Our team knew we needed to respond after the disappointment of last week and I'm so proud of our guys for the fight they had. We got down 10 and could have folded, but they just kept fighting,” said FLC head men's basketball coach, Bob Pietrack. “With our team this year, we'd had some real adversity with close losses and some injuries. But I said last week that this team and this staff was not going to give up and we'd keep fighting.”
Colorado Mesa controlled the game through the first 28 minutes and change, capitalizing on a 19-9 advantage in second chance points and a sizzling first half that saw the Mavericks shoot 9-of-21 (43%) from 3-point range.
The Mavericks would take their largest lead of the game at 62-52 with 12:05 remaining before the Skyhawks dug their heels in and responded with an 11-1 run to tie the ballgame with 8:39 left on a mid-range jumper from senior forward Riley Farris.
“Those second-chance points were big for Colorado Mesa in the first half and in growing their lead early in the second half. But I thought the biggest difference in the game was we limited Colorado Mesa to 1-of-12 from 3-point range in the second half,“ Pietrack said. ”We were much better defending the perimeter and we also were able to out-rebound them in the second half (20-15).“
Assisting the FLC second-half surge was its full-court pressure defense, which forced the Mavericks into eight second-half turnovers. Colorado Mesa entered Friday's game leading the RMAC in the most turnovers per contest (15.0) while FLC led the conference in fewest turnovers (11.3).
“We were trying to flip the rhythm of the game. We were able to get a couple steals in a row and capitalized on those possessions, which made the momentum flip a little bit,“ Pietrack said. ”Then we got some monster 3-point shots down the stretch from Farris, Boatwright and Kot.“
Sophomore guard Akuel Kot gave FLC its first lead of the second half at the 8:03 mark, netting one of his five 3-pointers on the night. He'd finish the evening with 19 points, five assists, three rebounds and three steals in his team-high 37 minutes.
Senior forward Farris, who finished with a game-high 27 points, nailed a 3-pointer of his own with 6:26 remaining that gave FLC some breathing room at 71-67. And junior forward Brenden Boatwright made his second 3-pointer of the season — the third of his career — as the shot clock winded down with 4:22 remaining that bumped the FLC lead to 76-71.
Boatwright was the third Skyhawk in double-figures with 15 points and four rebounds, scoring 10 in the second half.
Senior guard Corey Seng added eight points, six rebounds and two steals while shooting 3-of-3 from the field. Fellow seniors Will Wittman and JacQuess Hobbs each chipped in six points to help pace the FLC attack.
As a team, Fort Lewis finished the evening at its season average of 49% from the field (28-of-57) and tied a season high with nine 3-pointers made (9-of-21) while committing just 12 turnovers. Defensively, they limited the Mavericks to 42.6% shooting (29-of-68) from the floor and a pedestrian 10-of-33 (30.3%) clip from 3-point range.
The Skyhawks will now turn their attention toward a tough Saturday night test when they travel to Salt Lake City for a 7 p.m. clash against Westminster College. The Griffins are 11-3 on their home floor against the Skyhawks, but Fort Lewis currently owns a two-game win streak in the series, including an 75-56 road win last season.
FLC senior forward Riley Farris will enter Saturday's game against Westminster just two points shy of breaking the program's all-time scoring record of 1,861 points, currently held by FLC Hall of Famer, DeAndre Lansdowne.
Coach Pietrack said Friday that, while the record will be meaningful to Farris and the program, the All-RMAC forward is focused on helping the Skyhawks complete their weekend road trip with a victory.
“Knowing that the odds are in his favor to become the program's all-time leading scorer tomorrow; it's quite an accomplishment,” Pietrack said. “But it sure would be a better accomplishment if it happens on a successful night for the team and Riley would be the first person to tell you that.”
