Just about four months from the start of the season, the Skyhawks signed more reinforcements.
The Fort Lewis College men’s basketball team recently announced the addition of five players – two transfers and three true freshmen – as the Skyhawks attempt to improve on last year’s run to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Oscar Garcia, Joe Bell Austin, Will Morse, Ras Bach and D.J. Blackmon will suit up for FLC this season, bolstering a roster that lost Marcus Ayala, Matt Mazarei, Torrey Udall and Matthias Weissl to graduation.
Garcia is a reverse transfer from Division I Lipscomb University, where he appeared in 30 games and started four times last season. The 6-8 center previously played at Otero Junior College, where he started all 35 games he appeared in, averaging nine points and six rebounds per game.
Austin, a 5-10 point guard, will be a junior at FLC after spending the last two seasons at Cochise Junior College in Douglas, Ariz. He averaged 13 points, five assists and two steals per game at Cochise, leading the team to a 26-6 record last season and a 51-12 mark in his two years with the team. He was a second-team All-Arizona Community College Athletic Conference and a second-team All-Region I choice during his time in junior college.
Morse averaged 19 points, five assists and 4.5 rebounds per game for Westlake High School in Austin, Texas, last season. The 6-2 point guard carried a 4.0 grade-point average and was the team’s leading scorer and top assist man each of his varsity seasons and was a three-time team MVP and team captain.
“I chose Fort Lewis because I thought it gave me the best combination of basketball and academics,” Morse said in a news release.
The 6-4 Bach started three years for Anderson High School in Austin, Texas, earning first-team all-district, academic all-district and academic all-state honors, and he was his conference’s Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year as a senior.
“I chose Fort Lewis because I could really see myself there for four years for education and basketball,” Bach said. “Plus, knowing they have a good history of basketball made it an easy choice.”
Blackmon comes to Durango from Clovis High School in Clovis, N.M., where he was a three-sport athlete and 4.0 student. He averaged 18 points, seven rebounds and four steals as a three-year starter for the Wildcats, during which time he was a three-time first-team all-district honoree.
“I chose Fort Lewis because I felt right at home with the team and coaches,” Blackmon said, “and of course the mountains!”
heraldsports@durangoherald.com
