Fort Lewis College men’s basketball redshirt sophomore guard Jaxon Smith was known as a shooter in the transfer portal, and he showed why on Friday night.
Despite giving up 21 offensive rebounds and turning the ball over 16 times, the Skyhawks beat Eastern New Mexico, 76-73, in Portales, New Mexico, behind Smith’s elite shooting in FLC’s first regular-season game.
Smith finished the game with a team-high 28 points on 9-15 shooting from the field, 7-11 from 3-point range and 3-3 from the free-throw line in his debut for the Skyhawks. FLC needed every point as it was down by seven points with less than eight minutes left in the game.
Then, FLC’s signature pressure really started to pay off with turnovers late to get back into the game. Eastern New Mexico had a chance to tie with six seconds left with a trip to the free-throw line, but the Greyhounds missed the first free throw and had to foul after making the second. Transfer junior guard Donald Bangham Jr. stepped up and hit two free throws for FLC to seal the win.
“They're good; we're happy with that one,” FLC men’s basketball head coach Jordan Mast said. “We didn't play our best, but that's a good team ... they're just really aggressive to the rim, and they rebound the heck out of the ball. It's hard to prep for it ... they were really aggressive, so we countered that by making shots, especially Jaxon Smith, and it kind of kept us in it.”
Mast thought Eastern New Mexico didn’t know how good a shooter Smith was early in the game, and he got a few open looks because of it. After that, FLC ran some good actions for Smith, the transfer from Division I Utah State, to keep him hot.
FLC improved to 1-0 after it shot 47% from the field, 56% from 3-point range and 68% from the free-throw line. Fifth-year forward Chuol Deng had 12 points on 5-8 shooting from the field, 1-2 from 3-point range, 1-2 from the free-throw line and a team-high eight rebounds. Junior guard Yorgio Golesis added 10 points.
Eastern New Mexico dropped to 0-1 overall after it shot 41% from the field, 19% from 3-point range and 50% from the free-throw line. Austin Mo led the Greyhounds with 16 points and eight rebounds; Jose Murillo added 15 points and 10 rebounds.
The first half was a back-and-forth affair, with FLC down by as many as five points. Smith’s two free throws with 56 seconds left put FLC up 34-32 at the half.
“You could tell they were ready for our pressure,” Mast said. “They wanted a very slow game, which is surprising, because they led the Lone Star in scoring last year. So their plan was to hold it, barely get across and get in their set with 10 under the clock. In the first half, we let them do that. They kind of dictated the pace.”
FLC fell behind in the second half because of turnovers and the lack of rebounding, according to Mast. The Skyhawks were trying to throw these long passes that Eastern New Mexico was jumping in front of. Mast credited his team’s tough mentality as they stopped turning the ball over and got back into the game.
The Skyhawks retook the lead with seven consecutive points from Smith (two 3-pointers, with one of them a 4-point play) and FLC led 70-67 with 4:06 left. After the Greyhounds retook the lead, Golesis made back-to-back layups to give FLC a lead it wouldn’t surrender.
FLC has a quick turnaround as it plays Western New Mexico on Saturday at 5 p.m. in Portales.
Unlike the men’s team, there was no stress in the final minutes of FLC women’s basketball’s regular-season opener as the Skyhawks beat Western New Mexico, 83-57, on Friday evening in Las Vegas, New Mexico.
The Skyhawks dominated from the first possession, showing their advantage over their opponent with FLC’s passing, shooting, defending and rebounding. The Skyhawks led by 22 after the first quarter and never looked back, with 10 players scoring between six and 10 points.
FLC improved to 1-0 overall after it shot 50% from the field, 50% from 3-point range and 44% from the free-throw line. FLC outrebounded Western New Mexico, 41-31, but also had 20 turnovers. Sophomore guard Claudia Palacio Gámez finished with 10 points on 4-5 shooting from the field and 2-2 from 3-point range. Freshman guard Savannah Dotray finished with 10 points on 4-8 shooting from the field and 2-2 from 3-point range.
Western New Mexico dropped to 0-1 overall after it shot 38% from the field, 29% from 3-point range and 39% from the free-throw line. Yvanna Villarreal led the Mustangs with 21 points.
Palacio Gámez had the first basket of the year for FLC on a nice curl off a screen and lefty finish. FLC didn’t slow down after that as the Skyhawks pushed the pace and raced out to a 13-2 lead with 6:43 left in the first. Sophomore guard Katie Lamb hit two rainbow 3-pointers that didn’t touch the rim, and the Skyhawks did a good job on the defensive glass.
Zuniga made a hockey-style substitution with five new players, and the Skyhawks’ level didn’t drop. FLC junior guard Malia Ulery showed her offensive skillset with a nice spin move and stepback 3-pointer for the 18-2 lead with four minutes left. The Skyhawks’ bench continued to show their prowess with freshmen Alemaualii Fonoti and Josie Davis scoring inside as FLC led 31-10 after the first quarter.
After some dreadful shooting in the first quarter, Western New Mexico started the second quarter on a 10-2 run. The Mustangs got into the paint and finished, while FLC struggled with some turnovers.
The Skyhawks responded to the Mustangs’ run by getting consistent paint touches. Davis and Porter got inside and finished, and Palacio Gámez hit a 3-pointer. Lamb capped off a fantastic first half for FLC with a 3-pointer from NBA range for the 48-25 first-half lead.
Martinez started the second half with six consecutive points. Western New Mexico continued to struggle to shoot contested and open shots as FLC opened up its lead in the third quarter.
Western New Mexico did make a run at the end of the third quarter thanks to quality finishing inside, and FLC led 62-41 after three.
The game wasn’t in doubt, but FLC poured it on in the fourth. FLC got out in transition off Western New Mexico for easy finishes. Ulery and Dotray both hit open 3-pointers, and senior guard Deniece Ryan hit a great floater in the lane in transition as FLC led 81-49 with two minutes left.
FLC returns to the court Saturday at 1 p.m. to play Cameron University in Las Vegas, New Mexico.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
