Lubbock Christian men’s basketball’s 3-point shooting was incredible in its 94-76 road win at Fort Lewis College on Saturday night, and a familiar face to Skyhawks fans led the Chaps’ charge.
Amondo Miller Jr. played on the FLC 2023-2024 team that went 29-4 overall. At the time, Miller Jr. was a 6-foot-6-inch redshirt sophomore who averaged 6.4 points per game in 16.8 minutes per game.
Miller Jr. showed how much he’s improved since the last time he played inside Whalen Gymnasium at FLC. Miller was fantastic from behind the arc. Now 6-foot-7-inches and 195 pounds, Miller Jr. found a lot of open space behind the arc with eight 3-pointers, and the senior finished inside when he needed to.
The former Skyhawk wasn’t the only Chap to find good looks behind the 3-point arc. Lubbock Christian made 20 3-pointers on a ridiculous 55% clip. FLC seemed a step or a rotation away on defense, which allowed open 3-pointers and easy finishes inside.
A troubling trend is developing for the Skyhawks. FLC has trailed by at least seven points in all four of its games, but in the last two games, FLC has trailed by double digits in the first half before staging a comeback to take the lead in the second half. The Skyhawks haven’t held on to those leads in either of the last two games and have allowed 94.5 points in their two losses.
“They're making plays for each other,” FLC head coach Jordan Mast said. “We're making plays for ourselves. That's the difference right now.”
FLC dropped to 2-2 overall after it shot 49% from the field, 44% from 3-point range and 81% from the free-throw line. Junior guard Donald Bangham Jr. led FLC with 14 points off the bench on 5-9 shooting from the field, 2-5 from 3-point range and 2-3 from the free-throw line. Fifth-year forward Chuol Deng added 13 points and nine rebounds.
Lubbock Christian improved to 6-0 overall after it shot 51% from the field and 67% from the free-throw line. Miller Jr. finished with 29 points on 10-18 shooting from the field, 8-11 from 3-point range, 1-1 from the free-throw line and 10 rebounds.
Miller Jr. showed he could still shoot inside Whalen Gymnasium with two 3-pointers from the left wing to start the game. Miller then hit a turnaround midrange jumper plus the foul for the 14-4 lead with 16 minutes left. FLC was rushing its offense with shots off one pass and sloppy turnovers.
Mast thinks his team has to practice more and know what’s expected of them to start better.
The Skyhawks started running better offense, and it showed on the scoreboard. FLC moved the ball and got to the rim for finishes or trips to the free-throw line. Two free throws from junior guard Yorgio Golesis cut Lubbock Christian’s lead to 17-14 with 11:30 left in the first.
Lubbock Christian settled for 3-pointers in the middle of the first half. Bangham Jr. hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at 19 before Chaps’ Leo Nordberg responded with a 3-pointer to retake the lead for the Chaps, 22-19, with 8:20 left. With 7:30 left, 16 of Lubbock Christian’s 23 shots were 3-pointers.
The Chaps responded with a 6-0 run, with five of those points coming on one possession from a 3-pointer and a flagrant foul against Deng. Miller Jr. stayed hot with another 3-pointer, and Lubbock Christian led 35-27 with 3:32 left in the first.
FLC had some good moments on offense in the final three minutes, but Lubbock Christian continued to make shots and get to the free-throw line. A 3-pointer before the buzzer gave the Chaps a 45-38 lead at the half. Miller Jr. had 20 of his 29 in the first half.
“He shoots; he knows what he's good at and he gets his spots,” Mast said about Miller Jr. “He's a smart basketball player. He's the senior; he's been doing this a long time, and he knows that he's not just going to go one-on-one to create. He's going to play within their system, and he does it at a high level.”
FLC took its first lead of the game, 59-58, off a Golesis layup with 12:40 left. FLC was getting Lubbock Christian off the 3-point line and getting stops inside.
However, that didn’t last long. Lubbock found its groove on offense with 3-pointers. Miller Jr. hit his fifth on a defensive breakdown in transition to put Lubbock Christian up 68-63 with 10:18 left.
FLC’s offense fell into a rut; the Skyhawks couldn’t beat their matchups and weren’t running their sets effectively. On defense, FLC continued to let Lubbock Christian take and make open 3-pointers; the Skyhawks’ pressing defense looked a rotation short at times. Miller Jr. hit a 3-pointer from the corner to give the Chaps an 82-66 lead with 4:49 left.
“We’re not moving on the drives,” Mast said. “We’re waiting until they make the pass, which is way too late on good-shooting teams. They’re walking into threes, and they’re like layups when they have good shooters like that.”
FLC hits the road to play at Angelo State on Friday at 6:30 p.m.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
