The Fort Lewis College men’s basketball team proved something Saturday afternoon: It can win even when star senior center Alex Herrera doesn’t dominate the game offensively.
Junior guards Cade Kloster and Jared Smith came to life for the Skyhawks on Saturday afternoon, helping FLC secure an 87-73 win against Adams State despite Herrera, the double-double machine, converting only 2-of-8 shots from the field.
“I can’t complain if we’re going to win the game,” said Herrera, who battled double- and triple-teams all game. “These guys stepped up. I mean, we’re a deep team, a great team. Anyone can step up on any given night. We did a good job protecting the house (Saturday).”
Still, Herrera, who played strong defense with seven rebounds, two blocked shots and two steals, finished the game with 16 points thanks to 12-of-16 shooting from the free-throw line. He controlled the final 10 minutes of play once he started getting more open looks inside, as the scorching 3-point shooting of the Skyhawks opened up the lane.
The Skyhawks (7-2, 2-1 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) made 15-of-25 shots from behind the arch in the game. Kloster hit 6-of-9, including four in the first half.
“I wanted to come out shooting well and come out with a ton of energy,” Kloster said. “It was a big game and big rivalry for us.”
Kloster finished with a game-high 20 points. Smith added 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting, including 5-of-6 from 3. Smith was left completely uncontested on two of his long-range shots, and he stared down the defenders and made them pay.
“I think we all wanted to come out and make a statement by playing Adams,” Smith said. “They had beat us here the last three years at home. We didn’t want to make it a fourth year. We just wanted to come out and set the tone at home.”
Redshirt freshman guard Rasmus Bach also made his presence felt, coming up with hustle plays all over the court. He added 17 points, four rebounds and three assists.
FLC associate head coach Bob Pietrack called it the best defensive game of the year for the Skyhawks, who held a team that had averaged 91 points per game to 73.
“Just good team defense,” Bach said of the team’s effort. “We’ve been working a lot on help and recover. We know we may be disadvantaged with speed at times, but with (Herrera) back there, we know he can guard anyone, any team.”
FLC quickly built a lead after the game was tied at 32 at halftime. Herrera converted a big traditional three-point play that gave FLC a double-digit lead with 13 minutes to go. A 3 by sophomore guard Will Morse gave FLC its biggest lead of the game at 71-52 with 6:30 to play.
Shakir Smith started to catch fire for Adams State (3-3, 0-3 RMAC) and kept the game close. He finished with a team-high 17 points on 6-of-17 shooting.
FLC was able to extend players’ minutes in the second half thanks to only playing one game this weekend. Herrera, Kloster and Smith all played more than 35 minutes.
FLC will play a home doubleheader next Saturday and Sunday with games against Colorado Mesa and Western State.
“It’s a pretty unique opportunity for us,” Pietrack said. “We’re playing the three geographical rivals to our school three games in a row all before the break.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
