The calendar has turned to March and that means NCAA tournament games will be happening soon. Unfortunately for Skyhawks fans, neither basketball team made it to the NCAA tournament.
Therefore, it’s a good time to look at what Fort Lewis College basketball players finished in the top 10 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference in individual stats now that the conference tournaments are over. The men, after finishing their season 19-12 overall and in the RMAC tournament semifinals, have multiple players who cracked the top 10. The women didn’t have many after finishing last in the RMAC and 6-22 overall.
Here’s what players made the top 10 in RMAC individual stats. It’s important to note these statistics are from the full seasons, not just RMAC games.
Points per game: Biko Johnson
Senior guard Biko Johnson made quite the impact for Skyhawks men’s basketball in his one season with the team. Johnson led FLC in scoring with 16.3 points per game which was also second-best in the conference.
Johnson showed off his deep bag of scoring moves throughout the season that made him look like a professional in most games this year. He has a smooth and compact shooting stroke he used to shoot from deep and get shots off quickly.
The 6-foot-2-inch, 185-pound guard used his strong frame and footwork to finish inside and in the midrange. Johnson used his experience to draw fouls at an elite rate; he shot 10+ free throws in seven games this season.
Johnson was a very consistent scorer for the Skyhawks, scoring in double figures in 26 out of 31 games and 20+ points in nine games.
FLC head coach Jordan Mast will have a tough time replacing Johnson’s play and it should be one of Mast’s top priorities in the transfer portal.
Rebounds per game: Chuol Deng, Darla Hernandez
The lack of size on the FLC men’s and women’s basketball teams hurt them at times at the end of the year. The women struggled to curtail the conference’s top post players and got hurt on the glass. The men did better against other top post players but still had some very poor games rebounding the ball.
Senior forwards Chuol Deng and Darla Hernandez were responsible for a lot of their teams’ tough rebounds. Deng finished the season third in the RMAC in rebounds with 7.9 rebounds per game. Hernandez finished 10th in the RMAC in rebounding with 7.3 rebounds per game on the women’s side.
Deng used his length, positioning and athleticism well to rebound the ball on both ends for the Skyhawks. At 6-foot-7-inches, Deng was usually going up against some bigger forwards and still had some monster games rebounding the ball. He had 10+ rebounds in 10 games this year, including 21 rebounds in the Skyhawks’ final game of the season against Regis.
Hernandez used her positioning around the basket to get rebounds for FLC. At 5-foot-10-inches, Hernandez wasn’t usually one of the taller forwards on the court. Through 11 games, Hernandez was averaging 8.6 RPG but her rebounding fell off at the end of the season. She didn’t have 10 rebounds in a game in her last nine games after having 10+ boards nine times in her first 19 games.
FLC women’s head coach Lauren Zuniga will miss Hernandez’s production and rebounding; Zuniga have some work to do in the offseason as she loses her top two post players.
Deng has another year of eligibility so it’ll be interesting to see if he sticks around and if he continues his strong play on the boards.
Three-point percentage: Biko Johnson
Shooting from beyond the 3-point arc wasn’t a strength for the FLC men’s basketball team but Johnson made enough to finish eighth in 3-point percentage in the RMAC at 35.4%.
Johnson’s shot selection could be questionable at times but in a lot of games, he provided the necessary spacing for the offense. If he was hot from downtown, it really got the home crowd going inside Whalen Gymnasium.
The senior shooter hit 6-9 from 3-point range against UCCS on Jan. 25 for his season high. He hit multiple 3-pointers in 20 games this season.
Three-point field goals per game: Katie Lamb
One of the few bright spots in a poor season for FLC women’s basketball was freshman guard Katie Lamb and her 3-point shooting. She was the team’s best 3-point shooter and finished sixth in the RMAC with 1.9 3-point field goals per game.
Lamb wasn’t afraid to shoot the rock with her smooth stroke and release. She hit a season-high five 3-pointers twice this season.
The Colorado native will have to adjust to being higher on teams’ scouting reports next year as she could be a focal point for FLC’s offense next year.
Assists per game, assist/turnover ratio: Tru Allen
Tru Allen was a big reason for FLC’s success as the fifth-year guard was one of the earliest and most important recruits for Mast in his first season.
Allen ran the show for FLC and had a poise and maturity that only comes from lots of playing time in his college career. He didn’t do anything flashy and usually made the right play. Allen was a great finisher at the rim and was a pest on defense.
He finished eighth in the RMAC with 3.1 assists per game. Allen knew when to feed his teammates or look for his own shot; he had a season-high nine assists in the RMAC tournament against Colorado Mesa. He also finished fifth in the RMAC with a 1.7 assist to turnover ratio. Mast will have his work cut out for him to replace the experienced Allen and Johnson.
Blocked shots per game: Chuol Deng
Deng was great all season at coming from a help-defense position to block shots as well as block his own man’s shots. He finished fifth in the conference with 1.0 blocks per game.
His season high was six blocks against New Mexico Highlands. Deng was a little streaky as a shot blocker, having a six-game stretch in 2025 with zero blocks.
If Deng sticks around, it’ll be interesting to see if he’s a top shot blocker in the RMAC again.
Steals per game: Stewart Erhart, Biko Johnson, Tru Allen, Cassius Carmichael
It’s no surprise to see four Skyhawks in the top 10 of steals per game in the RMAC with how FLC played. The Skyhawks pressed all year and were one of the best teams in Division II in steals and causing turnovers.
Redshirt freshman guard Stewart Erhart led the RMAC with 2.5 steals per game, followed by Johnson in second with 2.1 SPG and Allen in third with 1.9 SPG. Junior forward Cassius Carmichael wasn’t far behind in fifth with 1.6 SPG.
All of these players were active but Erhart and Carmichael’s activity was always notable. Erhart was at the top of the press giving ball handlers a hard time. Carmichael was super versatile and picked opponents’ pockets with his length, athleticism and hustle.
Mast should have quite a few good defenders returning to build on.
Minutes per game: Tru Allen
Another unsurprising statistic. Allen ran the show for FLC and finished third in the conference with 32.7 minutes per game.
Mast relied on his veteran backcourt, especially with a few inexperienced guards coming off the bench. Allen also did a great job of being aggressive but not fouling; he didn’t foul out in a single game in his final year of college basketball.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
