A 1-2 start on the road in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play has the Fort Lewis College men’s basketball team relieved to be home Saturday and Sunday.
FLC (5-3, 1-2 RMAC) will host South Dakota School of Mines & Technology (3-7, 1-2 RMAC) at 7:30 p.m. Saturday and Black Hills State (4-3, 3-0 RMAC) at 5:30 p.m. Sunday at Whalen Gymnasium on the FLC campus in Durango.
The Hardrockers and Yellow Jackets will present a pair of big challenges to the defending RMAC regular-season champion Skyhawks, who hope to pick up a few more wins inside Whalen, where Bob Pietrack is 51-2 in four years as the team’s head coach.
“We’re very thankful to be home,” Pietrack said. “Starting conference with three straight road games was more than difficult. We’ve got final exams out of the way, and we’re ready to play.”
The South Dakota-based teams are fresh off a solid homestand in which S.D. Mines defeated Westminster College 55-52 last Saturday after a six-point loss to Dixie State. Black Hills, which leads the RMAC standings, has won three in a row to open conference with a 57-56 overtime road win against S.D. Mines followed by two huge wins against Westminster and Dixie State by a combined 51 points.
The Skyhawks are still putting pieces together through injuries and the tough road stretch to open conference play. FLC came back from an overtime loss at Adams State and a 35-point blasting at New Mexico Highlands to beat Colorado State University-Pueblo 73-61 last Saturday.
Now, the Skyhawks are hungry for a winning streak, but it will be tough against a pair of good defensive teams. S.D. The Hardrockers rank first in the RMAC having allowed opponents only 65.3 points per game, while the Yellow Jackets are second at 69 points per game.
“They play really good defense and don’t turn the ball over,” Pietrack said. “For us, we’re trying to focus on us right now and trying to get better. We have gotten better and get better all the time. It’s a matter of getting home, finding some consistency, some health and moving in the right direction.”
Health is key for FLC, which will be without junior forward Riley Farris. The junior forward was second on the team with 12.3 points per game while playing injured with a reoccurring shoulder injury. Now, Farris will be out, and FLC has to find an answer to replace his scoring production.
Against CSU-Pueblo, that came in the form of junior point guard A.J. Sparks, who also has been limited to only six games and one start this year while playing through a back injury. He rose to the occasion and gave FLC 21 points off the bench in last Saturday’s win.
“We believe A.J. is ready to go,” Pietrack said. “He practiced all week. Barring any setbacks, he should be ready to go.
“It’s an adjustment without Farris and something we have to deal with. It’s our reality, and we’ve had the whole week to prepare ourselves and make necessary adjustments.”
FLC has been led by Marquel Beasley’s 17.3 points per game. He ranks fifth in the RMAC in scoring despite scoring zero at CSU-Pueblo while being limited to only seven minutes because of foul trouble. He has shot 51.6 percent from the field and also has grabbed six rebounds per game.
The Skyhawks also need every minute out of senior guard Alex Semadeni, who is seventh in the RMAC with seven rebounds per game and sixth with 3.8 assists per game while he has averaged nearly 33 minutes of floor time.
FLC has struggled offensively at times and ranks ninth in the RMAC with 73.8 points per game and is sixth in scoring defense at 71.6 points per game. Good defense has helped FLC through a 40.9 percent shooting performance from the field so far, which is next to last in the conference. FLC has got through it by holding opponents to only 43.7 percent shooting.
Saturday, FLC will have to watch out for Mitchel Sueker of the Hardrockers, who has averaged a team-best 11.8 points per game, while Logan Elers leads the team with 4.8 rebounds per game.
Fraser Malcolm leads the Yellow Jackets into Sunday’s game with 16.7 points per game while he has shot 48.9 percent from the field. Dez Stoudamire also is a dangerous 3-point shooter at 35.7 percent from long range, while Tyler Oliver is Black Hills’ leading rebounder at 5.7 per game.
FLC will need the support from the Durango community this weekend with students gone on winter break. Saturday night’s game also clashes with the Cleveland Browns at Denver Broncos game.
“The fact we don’t have students here because of holiday break, we really are gonna need some community support to help us with the energy,” Pietrack said. “This town is very supportive, and we’re going to need them for a couple of big games this weekend.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
If you go
Who:
S.D. Mines/Black Hills State at Fort Lewis College
What:
RMAC men’s basketball
When:
7:30 p.m. Saturday/5:30 p.m. Sunday
Where:
Whalen Gymnasium, Durango
Twitter:
@jlivi2
