When Riley Farris and Will Wittman, who combined for 33 points in the first half, had to sit on the bench in the opening minute of the second half, the Fort Lewis College bench and freshmen guards had to step up in a big way.
Akuel Kot, one of the freshman guards, scored seven points in two minutes. Junior Garbrah, the team’s other freshman guard, hit a big 3-point shot, and FLC stretched a 46-35 halftime lead to 20 points at 68-48 behind another big 3 from sophomore forward Brendan La Rose.
In what was a close game the first half and could have been a tough second half with Farris and Wittman on the bench early, FLC showed its depth to earn a 102-86 win Wednesday night against University of the Southwest inside Whalen Gymnasium in Durango.
FLC remained unbeaten on the year at 5-0 with five home wins in 12 days. The Skyhawks are the first team in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference to five wins this season.
“Even though we’ve been at home, it’s very hard to play five games and be super sharp in 12 days,” FLC head coach Bob Pietrack said. “I commend our ball club for being able to get the job done five straight times and really have control in every one of those games – I think we’ve had double-digit leads in all five games. With that said, we are scoring the basketball at a very high clip, but we really need to work defensively.”
Farris finished with a game-high 22 points and added his second double-double of the season with 10 rebounds. He is averaging 23.4 points and 6.8 rebounds per game so far this season.
“Players and coaches are just doing such a good job getting me the ball and putting me in right positions,” Farris said. “It makes my life a lot easier out there, honestly.”
Kot scored 19 second-half points to finish with 21. He added six assists and five rebounds.
“I was just being patient,” Kot said. “First half, I wasn’t as aggressive. I was just letting the game come to me. I was just being aggressive the second half and teammates got me in position to score.”
Wittman scored 19 points and had seven rebounds with six on the offensive end. Danny Garrick scored 14 points and also had nine rebounds.
Brenden Boatwright and La Rose played big minutes for FLC at the start of the second half. A La Rose blocked shot led to a Boatwright layup that gave FLC a huge 73-48 lead with 14 minutes to go in the game. Both of the big sophomore forwards hustled all over the floor to help the Skyhawks control the game. Boatwright finished with 11 points and seven rebounds.
Farris and Wittman, ho each picked up a third personal foul in the first minute of the second half, checked back in with 11:55 to go, but Wittman picked up a fourth foul with 10:47 to play. That allowed the young guards, who already were forced to step up with a season-ending leg injury to junior guard Cesar Molina, to keep attacking and gain valuable game experience with only one more game to play before the conference grind. RMAC play is scheduled to begin Dec. 6 at home against New Mexico Highlands.
Garbrah went on to hit a couple of big 3s, including one to stretch FLC’s lead back beyond 20 at 82-60 with 9:10 to play. He finished with seven points.
“We got two freshmen guards that are really good,” Pietrack said. “They don’t play like freshmen, especially (Kot). ... Junior gave us good minutes, played 18 minutes – about what he needs to be playing – and was big with seven points. I thought he guarded well.”
Playing injured for the fourth consecutive game with a sprained wrist, point guard Logan Hokanson continued to show impressive play despite playing largely without his right hand. He had four steals and scored five points. He also dished out six assists. He will now get time to rest the injury and likely won’t play again until the start of conference, Pietrack said.
Southwest would get within 89-75 with 4:45 to play. But Wittman, on his fourth offensive rebound and put back layup of the game, this time a dunk, helped FLC steal momentum back. After another Wittman offensive rebound, Kot would make a 3. Then it was a Wittman steal that led to a Kot fastbreak layup to give FLC a 98-79 lead with 2:40 to go. That allowed FLC to turn to its bench to close out the game.
“We need somebody that is gonna bring the energy for the team, be a defensive stopper, get charges and things like that,” Wittman said. “I really like taking on that role.”
Joshua Harris finished with 16 points for the Mustangs (4-5). Alex Pena and Nathaniel White each had 11 points. Nobody for Southwest had more than four rebounds, and FLC won the rebound battle 51-33.
After sprinting through the first five games, FLC will have 10 days off before it will face Park University Gilbert out of Arizona at 4 p.m. Nov. 30. The Skyhawks will enjoy the chance to rest up and use the game to prepare for the conference slate.
“We will start preparation for league for the next four or five days. We’re just going to work on ourself, truly, and how we can get better defensively,” Pietrack said. “When you play this many games in a row and you’re not getting consistent practice, it’s a real test. The type of energy it takes to play college basketball and play it well is hard.
“We’ve really grown in these 12 days. Now, we need to look at how can we grow in the next nine days that we can be at our best Nov. 30 and carry that into a full week of practice in preparation for a nationally-ranked New Mexico Highlands team.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
