Skyhawks head coach Bob Pietrack has repeatedly said he has 10 starters and it doesn’t matter who starts games.
This proved to be true as Fort Lewis started a different lineup tonight and didn’t miss a beat. Junior guard and leading scorer Obi Agbim came off the bench and led the Skyhawks to a convincing 88-72 win over Chadron State Friday night at Fort Lewis.
Fort Lewis improved to 14-2 overall and 9-1 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference after it shot 56% from the field, 43% from 3-point range and 59% from the free-throw line in the win.
“I’m happy with the distribution for us,” Pietrack said. “We really set the tone defensively in the first 10 minutes. Then we had some big shots down the stretch to keep it to where it would never be in danger.”
Junior guard Obi Agbim came off the bench for the first time this season and scored 21 points on 8-14 shooting from the field and 5-7 shooting from 3-point range. Pietrack said he wanted some more offensive punch in his second group. Senior guard Junior Garbrah had 20 points on 6-9 shooting from the field, 2-4 shooting from beyond the arc and 6-9 shooting from the free-throw line.
“The crowd alone is really exciting to play in front of,” Agbim said. “I’m really thankful for my teammates to trust in me in kicking the ball out to me. They work so hard to get me open so I might as well get them an assist if I can.”
Chadron State fell to 9-7 overall and 6-4 in the RMAC after it shot 38% from the field and 37% from the 3-point line.
Dalton Peterson led the Eagles with 18 points on 6-11 shooting from 3-point range. Bryce Latimer was averaging 20 points per game before this matchup and was held to 18 points on 4-15 shooting from the field and 8-9 from the free-throw line.
“We really bottled him up well,” Pietrack said. “We were showing him traffic, tried to make everything hard, we wanted to make him finish above our guys. They walled up very well.”
Fort Lewis got off to a 6-0 start after turning over Chadron State numerous times in the first three minutes.
Garbrah hit two 3-pointers and an Amondo Miller Jr. slam after a great hustle play by senior center Sekou Dembele put Fort Lewis up 14-5 with 15:15 left.
An Agbim outside jumper pushed the Skyhawks lead to 18-7 with 11:40 left. Agbim hit a 3-pointer to push the lead to 23-7 with 10 minutes left. Chadron State had nothing going on offense as Fort Lewis cut off penetration in the half-court and forced tough outside shots and turnovers.
The Skyhawks did a great job of getting the ball over the top of a seal to Dembele for easy layups. Junior guard Jhei-R Jones pushed the lead to 30-14 with 5:20 left off a nice floater in the lane.
Chadron State started hitting 3-pointers to keep it within striking distance. But Garbrah kept his impressive offensive performance going with a nice baseline drive plus the foul to push the lead to 33-19 with 4:10 left.
Junior forward Brayden Carter had trouble in isolation on the block to end the half. He turned the ball over off a double team and then got called for an offensive foul.
The Skyhawks got bailed out on a terrible foul by Chadron State on a desperation 3-pointer by junior guard Samier Kinsler right before the buzzer. He made all three and Fort Lewis led 40-28 at half.
Chadron State went zone to start the second half and Miller made a nice cut to the middle and got a layup to start the scoring for Fort Lewis.
Two 3-pointers from Chadron State plus a Lattimer drive and foul cut Fort Lewis’ lead to 44-37 with 17:07 left.
Chadron State found some lanes to penetrate and cut the lead to five. But three plays in a row by Jones, a 3-pointer and two charges, led to the Skyhawks extending their lead to 51-39 with 14:30 left.
“Chadron comes in as the No. 4 team in our league; they’re good,” Pietrack said about Chadron State. “These games are like a heavyweight fight. They’re going to win some rounds.”
A Kinsler steal and 3-pointer in transition pushed the lead to 59-42 with 12:37. The Skyhawks offense came alive after a dormant period with some good defense and ball movement.
Latimer had a tough night from the field but was able to get to the free-throw line in the second half. He cut the lead to 66-50 but an Agbim 3-pointer pushed the lead up to 69-50 with 9:34 left.
Fort Lewis got to the line too but Chadron State was able to break its press and Peterson hit a corner 3-pointer to cut the lead to 72-56 with 7:48 left. Both teams traded baskets and Agbim hit a 3-pointer off good ball movement to push the lead to 78-62.
The Skyhawks are back in action on Saturday against Colorado Christian University at 6 p.m. at Fort Lewis.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
