IGNACIO
A drum circle brought them onto the court, and Alex Herrera brought the house down in his hometown of Ignacio.
The Fort Lewis College men’s basketball team opened its 2014 regular season with a unique four-team tournament in Ignacio more than 20 miles away from its home, Whalen Gymnasium in Durango.
Playing in his hometown for the first time since graduating from Ignacio High School in 2010, Herrera made the game one Ignacio fans never will forget. With 1 minute, 4 seconds to play in the first half, Herrera recorded his second blocked shot of the game to break the FLC men’s basketball career record of 208 blocked shots, set by Rich Hillyer in 1989. Herrera turned back a shot by St. Mary’s senior guard JJ Bolton for his 209th career block in a Skyhawks’ uniform.
“It is a great feeling just to get the win, but the blocks’ record makes it sweet,” Herrera said. “Especially being at home in front of the local fans.”
Herrera went on to block five shots in the game, scoring 23 points, dishing out six assists and hauling in 10 rebounds for a double-double. He led the SKyhawks in all four categories.
He began the game with an emphatic dunk and added another big slam before breaking the block record.
The Skyhawks (1-0) rode the momentum all the way to a 70-57 victory against St. Mary’s (0-1), the fifth-ranked team in the South Central Region of Division II, the same region as the unranked Skyhawks.
“It’s good to put a well-rounded game together, but I would be just as happy with zero points and zero blocks if we won,” Herrera said.
The Skyhawks shot 39.6 percent from the field and hit 7-of-23 3-point attempts. FLC closed the game out at the free throw line, hitting 21-of-30 attempts in the game.
FLC outrebounded the Rattlers 39-33, including 17 offensive rebounds.
The Skyhawks dominated the entire second half after taking a 35-26 lead into halftime.
FLC will look to make it two wins in a row to open the season against Heartland Conference opponents. The Skyhawks will face Texas-Permian Basin (1-0) at 7 p.m. Saturday back inside the SunUte Community Center for the final game of the tournament. It will be the championship game of the Skyhawks Classic.
St. Mary’s will play Western New Mexico (0-1) in the 5 p.m. game Saturday in Ignacio.
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
Texas-Permian Basin beats Western N.M. in a rout
IGNACIO – The tournament kicked off with a lopsided contest between the Texas-Permian Basin Falcons and the Western New Mexico Mustangs, with the Falcons soaring to a 101-57 victory over the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference program.
Western N.M. shot just 28.3 percent from the field and was outrebounded 46-23 by Texas-Permian Basin of the Heartland Conference.
The Falcons shot 61.4 percent from the field and 7-of-16 from behind the 3-point line. They were led by Phadarius Taylor’s 18 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field and 8-of-9 free-throw shooting. Madison Turner contributed 16 points, John Bailey had 15 points, Lamar Falley added 13, and Stephen Thompson scored 11.
Brandon Tanter led Western N.M. with 16 points on 6-of-13 shooting.
The Mustangs shot 24-of-26 from the free throw line but couldn’t make up for the poor shooting night.
The Falcons will play Fort Lewis College at 7 p.m. Saturday. Western N.M. will face St. Mary’s in the 5 p.m. game.
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
