Mountain West Conference teams will be wary of scheduling the Fort Lewis College men’s basketball team anytime soon.
One year after defeating Wyoming on the road, the Skyhawks nearly knocked off Colorado State on Tuesday night at Moby Arena in Fort Collins. FLC (1-1) led 31-30 at halftime of a game that was an exhibition for the Skyhawks but a real game that counted for the Rams (2-0). But the Rams used a big advantage at the free-throw line in the second half to secure an 84-75 win.
FLC was whistled for 15 personal fouls in the second half to seven for Colorado State. The Rams made 29-of-34 free throws, while FLC got to the line only 10 times and made eight. Injuries played a part in that, as FLC was without big men Ross Buchman and Brandon Wilson, with several other players also playing through injuries.
“We were shorthanded,” FLC head coach Bob Pietrack said in a phone interview with The Durango Herald. “We had to play smaller, and that tends to lead to more fouls inside. The game was hard on us on the boards.”
Colorado State center Emmanuel Omogbo used a significant size advantage to score a co-game-high 20 points and grab a game-high 15 rebounds. “He’s a nightmare,” Pietrack said. “He had 102 offensive rebounds last year, one of the leaders in NCAA. We don’t see guys like that in the RMAC.”
CSU guard Bob Che took over the game during stretches and finished with 20 points and seven rebounds.
FLC was led by Joshua Blaylock and Riley Farris, as each finished with 19 points. Rasmus Bach continued his stellar start to the season with a double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds. He also had four assists. Blaylock is playing through a knee injury but gave FLC 35 minutes playing at 80 percent health. “He’s a special warrior,” Pietrack said. “He gave us everything, and he’s going to have to play through it until we can get him some rest.”
Will Morse buried a 3-pointer to open the game for FLC, and he finished with 10 points, five rebounds and six assists. FLC shot only 38.7 percent from the field and only 9-of-33 from behind the 3-point line. They were outrebounded 48-37 but stayed in the game with aggressive play and limited turnovers with only six. The Skyhawks were within four points after a Daniel Hernandez 3-pointer with 2:40 to play, but that was as close as they would get down the stretch.
After beating Wyoming last year and holding a halftime lead against Colorado, which made the NCAA Tournament, Division I teams were reluctant to schedule the Skyhawks, who entered this season ranked 15th in the Division II coaches poll.
The Skyhawks have played every game on the road but return home this weekend for the Skyhawk Classic with games Friday and Saturday against Embry-Riddle and Northern New Mexico, respectively.
Adams State will also get in on the action this weekend. FLC’s games are scheduled to tip off at 7:30 p.m. inside the newly renovated Whalen Gymnasium both nights.
“The effort has been good all season, but we have to find a way to rebound better,” Pietrack said. “It will help if we can get all the pieces back to the puzzle, because we haven’t been very healthy yet this year. We hope to get a few back this weekend.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
