As far as 10-point wins go, Fort Lewis College’s 87-77 overtime win over Westminster on Saturday was as unlikely and ugly as it gets.
But a win is a win, and the Skyhawks won their first overtime game under head coach Jordan Mast to remain unbeaten in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and take first place in the conference standings.
FLC missed 44 field goals, 15 free throws and had a negative assist-to-turnover ratio. The Skyhawks blew a double-digit lead in the second half and had to fight to get to overtime. But FLC won the game because of its backcourt.
Redshirt sophomore guards Stewart Erhart and Jaxon Smith were fantastic at home in the victory, combining for 52 points on good efficiency. Smith hit some extremely tough shots from 3-point range, while Erhart was, once again, everywhere defensively, hit some clutch shots late in regulation and was cool as a cucumber from the free-throw line. Erhart pulled the Skyhawks away from the Griffins for the unlikely 10-point win.
“They had some big guys, strong guys, so it was a game about being tough and who's going to own the paint,” Mast said. “We did that in the first half. They dominated the second half; they had 10 offensive rebounds from us not being tough enough down there. Then we regained it in overtime and took it to them.”
FLC improved to 8-5 overall after it shot 38% from the field, 41% from 3-point range and 60% from the free-throw line.
Erhart finished with 27 points on 7-20 from the field, 2-5 from 3-point range and 11-13 from the free-throw line. He had seven steals, incredibly, for the second consecutive game. Smith had 25 points on 7-15 shooting from the field, 6-11 from 3-point range and 5-5 from the free-throw line. Fifth-year forward Chuol Deng also had a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
Westminster dropped to 6-8 overall and 1-5 in the RMAC after it shot 34% from the field, 39% from 3-point range and 69% from the free-throw line. Cole Kadoguchi led the Griffins with 20 points on 5-12 shooting from the field, 5-10 from 3-point range and 5-5 from the free-throw line. Jack Jamele added 19 points off the bench.
Erhart continued to show his advanced offensive game with FLC’s guard depth limited by injury. He’s a lot more in control and aggressive this year, and he showed it early in the first half with a banked mid-range jumper, a scoop layup around the big and a top of the key 3-pointer. Erhart had eight points as the Skyhawks led 19-13 with 9:32 left.
FLC could’ve been up by much more in the middle of the first half. The Skyhawks were in the bonus with nine minutes left, but started the game 4-12 from the free-throw line.
The Skyhawks’ defense was great for the first 12 minutes. Even if they didn’t create turnovers, they were keeping Westminster from having easy paint looks, and they forced the Griffins into outside shots.
“Because they’re a big team, we wanted to trap, be aggressive and make those bigs handle our pressure,” Mast said. “In the first half, we really got into them.”
FLC finished the first half strong thanks to Deng and Smith. Deng is a great rebounder with his length and positioning, and he showed that with his defensive and offensive rebounding late in the first half. Smith hit a 3-pointer and got to the free-throw line. The more Smith gets to the free-throw line, the better, as he’s one of the top-10 free-throw shooters in Division II. FLC led 36-26 at the half.
It was a poor start to the second half for the Skyhawks. The big issue for the Skyhawks in the second half was fouling, as the Griffins were in the bonus with 13 minutes left. Mast was on the refs constantly, looking for consistency. A 3-pointer by Kadoguchi cut the FLC lead to 48-44 with 11:46 to go.
“It (the fouls) affects it (our press) hugely in a negative way because now you can’t be aggressive,” Mast said. “If there’s a 50-50 ball that we normally tell our guys to go get, now you have to second-guess it … I was not happy with those early fouls because a lot of them were dumb reaches and things we can control.”
FLC really struggled to get anything going in the middle of the second half with little ball or player movement. Westminster took its first lead of the second half with three free throws for a 57-56 lead with 4:50 left.
Mast was upset with his team’s shot selection during this stretch, and he said his guys were going for the home-run shot, instead of doing what got them that lead.
It was a back-and-forth next few minutes, with Smith getting hot from outside late. He made a 3-pointer from NBA range and followed it up with a Kyle Korver-esque 3-pointer on the move. Westminster showed its shot making with some tough outside shots, including a 3-pointer to take a 69-67 lead with a minute left. Erhart responded with a tough drive to the right with a finish plus the foul. His free throw gave FLC a 70-69 lead.
After another 3-pointer by Jemele, Erhart drove to the hole and got fouled. He made two to tie the game at 72. Westminster had a chance to win it, but was disjointed offensively and couldn’t make the shot.
“We don't win without those two,” Mast said about Erhart and Smith. “Jaxon’s ability to shoot it, just stretch the floor with some of the shots he made. In the last game … we felt he got some great shots, and he didn't get it going … and today he made like five straight. He's a good enough shooter that we believe in him at all times.”
Erhart continued his stellar play in overtime with the first five points off a 3-pointer and tough transition layup. Westminster’s tough shot-making disappeared, and FLC got the defensive rebounds. A nice Carmichael layup gave FLC a 79-72 lead with two minutes left that it held.
FLC plays at South Dakota Mines on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
