Three seniors who were the face of Fort Lewis College’s basketball programs during the 2018-19 season were awarded one last time Tuesday.
The Skyhawks men’s and women’s teams were at home while the top-eight teams in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference began conference tournament play. That didn’t stop Marquel Beasley and Alyssa Yocky from being named to the All-RMAC second team, while Alex Semadeni was named an honorable mention player.
Beasley, the Preseason RMAC Defensive Player of the Year, was named to the second team by the conference coaches for a second consecutive season. He transferred to FLC before his junior season from Iowa Western Junior College, and the Rock Island, Illinois, product started all 59 games he played in a Skyhawks uniform. As a senior, the forward averaged 17.3 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game, all team highs. He also was highly efficient, as he shot 50 percent from the floor a year after he shot 57.6 percent.
“When you’re talking about Marquel Beasley, you’re talking about one of the great players to ever play here,” said FLC men’s basketball head coach Bob Pietrack. “He came in here and started every game. He came in very hyped, and I thought he was excellent his whole career.
“I think Marquel needed us as much as we needed him the last two years. To see his growth, as a coach, it makes it worth it. I think Marquel has a second home in Durango for sure. We’re going to miss him desperately.”
Yocky bounced back from a tough injury that sidelined her for most of her junior season with a stellar senior year for the women’s team. After 100 career games, the star from Albuquerque ranks in the top 20 in FLC women’s history in scoring, blocked shots, free throws and field goals. With 759 rebounds, she ranks third all-time in FLC history.
As a senior, she led the Skyhawks in scoring, rebounds, free-throws made, steals and blocks. She scored 11.4 points per game, ranked third in the RMAC with 8.9 rebounds per game and also had 2.2 assists per game. Her two steals per game also tied for fifth-most in the RMAC.
After Friday’s season finale, FLC women’s head coach Flores said he was proud knowing Yocky will go on to accomplish great things after she graduates from FLC.
“When you start talking about Alyssa, you start with what a great person she is,” Flores said earlier this season. “If there’s a Webster’s Dictionary definition of student-athlete, it would be her. I don’t know if there’s five people like her in the country that are on a college basketball team, student body vice president, head of the honors program, and the list goes on and on with what she’s done for this school, much less our program. It’s something anybody can look up to and learn from.”
Semadeni was a five-year man for FLC and earned his first All-RMAC award Tuesday, though he has earned several All-RMAC honors for academics. The Fort Collins product had his career night Jan. 5 at Chadron State College with 37 points, with three 3-pointers in the final 30 seconds of regulation, including a miracle shot at the buzzer to send the game into overtime. In the overtime, he scored another 10 points to secure the road win.
This season, Semadeni averaged 11.6 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. He will long be remembered for the roars he let out on the court and his ability to draw a charge and make all the right hustle plays.
“When you talk about Semi, he’s the first player that played four years for (associate head coach Daniel Steffensen) and I,” Pietrack said. “If you’re looking for what a Division II student athlete should be, that’s Alex Semadeni. He was selfless, consistent, loved his teammates, understood his role, and his role changed over the four years that he played constantly, and he was the same whether we were on top of the RMAC or we were struggling. I think the younger guys, as they grow, will really appreciate what a great teammate Alex was.”
The FLC men finished the season 12-16 overall and 7-15 in the RMAC a year after winning the regular-season championship. Colorado School of Mines (24-4, 21-1 RMAC) won the conference, while head coach Pryor Orser was named the RMAC Coach of the Year for the fifth time in his 18 seasons leading the Orediggers. Ben Sonnefeld, Mines’ senior point guard, was named Player of the Year. Mines’ Ben Clare split the Defensive Player of the Year award with Dixie State’s Julien Ducree.
The FLC women finished 13-15 overall and 9-13 in RMAC play with wins in four of their final five games. Colorado Mesa University (24-3, 20-2 RMAC) won the conference, while head coach Taylor Wagner won Coach of the Year for the fourth time in his seven years as head coach of the Mavericks. Colorado Mesa guard Jaylyn Duran, who scored 18.4 points per game, was named the women’s Player of the Year, while Western Colorado University’s Tammarrah Gothard was named the Defensive Player of the Year.
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
