Fort Lewis College was on the wrong end of a trade deal Saturday night in Golden.
Colorado School of Mines (11-5, 7-2 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) would answer every big two-point basket from FLC (10-5, 4-5 RmAC) with a 3-pointer of its own, as the Orediggers made seven of their first nine triples and finished 12-of-24 from 3-point range to race past the Skyhawks 86-77 on Saturday night inside Lockridge Arena. It was the sixth consecutive win for Mines against FLC.
“They’re a good ball club. When you play a good team on the road and get their A-game, it’s hard,” FLC head coach Bob Pietrack said. “I’m proud of our guys for continuing to fight throughout the game, but it wasn’t in the cards.”
The Skyhawks did their best to keep up despite making only 4-of-11 from 3. The early barrage had FLC down 31-17, but the Skyhawks got within 38-32 late in the first half. The Orediggers would finish the half strong and took a 42-32 lead into the halftime break.
FLC was quickly within six points in the second half, but the Orediggers’ shooting picked up once again to build a 15-point lead with 14 minutes to play. That lead would stretch to 76-56 with 8:22 to go. FLC would continue to play tough and cut the lead back to single digits in the final minute, as the Skyhawks showed no signs of giving up during this three-game losing skid.
Mines was well-balanced in scoring with 17 points from Titus Reed. He had nine of the team’s first 11 points and was 6-of-8 shooting including 3-of-5 from 3. Kobi Betts added 15 points on 4-of-6 shooting. Ben Boone scored 14 points and made 4-of-5 from 3-point range, and Micahel Glen had 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including some big dunks in the second half. He also blocked three shots.
Pietrack was happy with his team’s defense against Mines stars Mason Baker and Brendan Sullivan, but the role players of the Orediggers stepped up in a big way.
FLC was led offensively by Will Wittman, who had a game-high 20 points and team-high eight rebounds. Riley Farris followed up a career-high 36 points in a Friday-night loss at UCCS with 18 points Saturday on 7-of-15 shooting. It was the first time this season Farris failed to score 20 or more, and he was held to only two rebounds.
Mines shot a ridiculous percentage from the field at nearly 60% late in the second half before colling down to 53.4% by the end of the game. FLC also shot well at 51.7%, but it was the two-point field goals instead of 3-pointers that didn’t allow FLC to keep up.
Pietrack continues to implore his team to play tougher defense and be more aggressive when it comes to rebounding. But the young team struggled in that department again Saturday night, as it lost the rebound battle 37-25.
“We are very much a work in progress defensively,” Pietrack said. “There were spurts where we were better, but we need longer sustained effort defensively.”
Corey Seng played a good game off the bench for FLC and had nine points on 4-of-4 shooting. Junior Garbrah also added nine points and three steals. Akuel Kot finished with seven points.
Mines remained in a three-team lead atop the RMAC standings with Dixie State and Black Hills State with the win.
Now, FLC will get ready for the second half of a four-game road trip with regional rivals Western Colorado and Colorado Mesa next Friday and Saturday. Seven of the final 13 games of the season for FLC will come on the road, and the Skyhawks likely need at least seven more wins to finish at least finish .500 in the RMAC and have a chance to qualify for the eight-team conference tournament.
“We have to stay the course,” Pietrack said. “We’re a young team, a young group, and we were better tonight than (Friday). We go back on the road immediately, and we will try to find a way to get good minutes and play well. All you can do in this very good league is keep moving forward.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
