The Fort Lewis College men’s basketball team notched its first win of the season Saturday in Canyon, Texas, and the Skyhawks are hoping they all won’t be this hard to come by.
Coming off a tough, season-opening loss Friday to West Texas A&M, Fort Lewis found itself in another dogfight that came down to the game’s final possessions. This time around, however, the Skyhawks were able to squeak out the win. Rasmus Bach’s jumper with 22 seconds on the clock ended up being the game-winner as the Skyhawks improved to 1-1 with a thrilling 88-87 win against Eastern New Mexico.
Bach led Fort Lewis (1-1) with 25 points and redshirt freshman Riley Farris had 17 points off the bench. Will Morse had 15 points and led the team with seven assists, while backcourt mate Joshua Blaylock fought through a bruised knee to add 13 points in the team’s first win of the new season.
“The first win of the season is always the hardest,” Fort Lewis head coach Bob Pietrack said in a phone interview with The Durango Herald. “We knew it would be a tough matchup and they killed us on the glass. It wasn’t pretty at times, but I’m proud of the effort. The effort we’re looking for is there.”
The size and strength of the Greyhounds was tough for FLC to overcome as they were out-rebounded 48-31 in the game. Fort Lewis trailed for nearly all of the first half and was down by as many as eight points as halftime approached. With the offense struggling to find a rhythm, a 10-for-12 performance at the foul line kept the Greyhounds’ lead from getting out of hand. Eventually, the ‘Hawks found their flow.
Down 42-39 at the break, FLC charged out of the locker room and used a 10-1 run to build a lead of its own. With Blaylock finding his stroke from the outside and Farris pouring in buckets off the bench, the FLC advantage swelled to 10.
However, Eastern New Mexico had some fight left.
The Greyhounds (1-1) mounted a late second-half 10-2 run that gave them the lead once again at 80-79. That’s when the gritty Skyhawks veterans stepped up. Bach made a jump shot to get the lead right back, and five consecutive points by Morse answered scores at the other end from ENMU.
Finally, down 87-86, Bach made a jumper to give FLC a one-point lead and the Greyhounds had no answer in the final seconds.
“Rasmus Bach played a great game for us and made plays when we needed them,” Pietrack said. “Any time you can get a regional win against a Lone Star Conference team, it’s a big win.”
The Skyhawks will face another heavy task at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Fort Collins against Colorado State University in an exhibition game.
jfries@durangoherald.com
