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Herrera soars over Eagles

Skyhawks improve to 3-0 with a strong second half at home

Northern New Mexico beat Fort Lewis College twice in exhibition games a year ago. The Skyhawks made sure they wouldn’t lose in a game that counted this season.

The FLC Skyhawks faced a tough contest against the Eagles from Española, New Mexico. Northern New Mexico, a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics school, opened with lights-out shooting from the field – 4-for-4 and 3-for-3 from 3-point land.

Locked in a tie at 38 with 2 minutes to play in the first half, the Skyhawks closed the half on a 9-2 run to open a 47-40 lead at halftime.

It was a lead FLC only would build on in the second half, as they went on to win 105-92 and improve to 3-0.

“That NAIA school is a very good school and very well-coached, and they play hard,” FLC associate head coach Bob Pietrack said of the Eagles, who are coached by FLC graduate Ryan Cordova. “We have a lot of respect for them. With that said, we used a ton of energy Friday and Saturday, and we’re disappointed with our level of energy, especially in the first half. We know we can’t play that way. We can’t come out slow and expect to have the results we want.”

Senior center Alex Herrera, the Ignacio alumnus who was honored before the game by Bayfield’s Rich Hillyer for surpassing Hillyer’s career blocked shots record last weekend, led FLC with 29 points, 12 rebounds, seven blocked shots and three assists.

“He’s in the Hall of Fame up here; he’s a great player. It was definitely a special moment,” Herrera said of Hillyer and the ceremony.

The Eagles’ tallest player was just 6-6, and they were no match for the 6-9 Herrera.

“We knew we could go inside and get what we wanted,” Herrera said.

FLC really gained separation 7 minutes into the second half when junior transfer guard Kofi Josephs heated up from behind the 3-point line. He hit three in a row to extend FLC’s lead to 66-50 with 11:30 to play.

Josephs finished with 21 points on 6-of-9 shooting from behind the arch.

“Well, we’ve got big (Herrera) in the middle, so he gives everyone space,” Josephs said. “I’ll be able to take shots and keep the floor space.”

Turnovers frustrated FLC head coach Bob Hofman. The Skyhawks committed 20 in the game. FLC made up for it by outrebounding the Eagles 44-33.

“We gotta rebound the ball, especially when we’re turning it over. We turned it over 20 times (Tuesday), which is uncharacteristic of Fort Lewis basketball,” Pietrack said.

Hofman also received a technical in the game for arguing with the referees. That helped the Eagles get within 10 points, but FLC quickly rebuilt its lead to 86-68 with 5:11 remaining in the game.

Guard Will Morse got into double-digit scoring for FLC with 15 points on 5-of-11 shooting with four 3s. Morse also had seven rebounds. His fellow guard from Austin, Texas, Rasmus Bach, finished with 12 points, including a massive dunk with 3 minutes to go in the game. Jared Smith added eight points and four rebounds for FLC.

“Just trying to help the team win as many ways as possible,” Morse said. “You won’t always get points, won’t always get rebounds – just doing as much as I can to help the team.”

Gabe Martinez finished with 19 points for the Eagles. Christian Barraza added 12 points.

FLC will host Eastern New Mexico at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Whalen Gym.

“We’ve got a long way to go defensively to be where we want to be at with league approaching and a huge game for us Thursday night,” Pietrack said.

jlivingston@durangoherald.com



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