While there were many unknowns on first-year Fort Lewis men’s basketball head coach Jordan Mast’s roster, he knew he had two strong veteran guards in his backcourt.
One of those guards is senior Biko Johnson. The transfer from Division I University of Nebraska Omaha showed off his scoring arsenal when FLC needed it the most. Johnson scored 16 of his 19 points in the second half to keep Eastern New Mexico at bay and push FLC to a 66-55 win at home on Friday.
FLC improved to 1-2 overall after shooting 41% from the field, 35% from the 3-point line and 54% from the free-throw line. Eastern New Mexico fell to 0-1 overall after shooting 41% from the field, 13% from 3-point range and 53% from the free-throw line.
“This week, we identified a few areas that we felt if we get better … like on the defensive side,” FLC men’s basketball coach Jordan Mast said after his first win as FLC’s head coach. “So part of it is on our staff. We want to press, but we were getting way overextended against teams. One thing I learned at this level is everyone's pretty good at making a good read. We put our players in bad spots. So we said we wanted to be solid. We're going to show we can defend first before applying that pressure. We did that this week and … especially in the first half, we were getting everything, going after the ball and just proud of the effort on that end.”
Johnson finished with 19 points on 7-12 shooting from the field and 5-8 from 3-point range. Senior forward Chuol Deng had 15 points on 6-14 shooting from the field, 2-7 from 3-point range and 1-5 from the free-throw line along with eight rebounds.
Fifth-year guard Tru Allen bounced back after some poor shooting to start the season in Florida and finished with 14 points on 6-10 shooting from the field and 2-3 from the charity stripe. He also had five rebounds, five assists and four steals.
Mario Whitley led Eastern New Mexico with 13 points and six rebounds.
Allen pushed the pace and showed why he was one of the best perimeter defenders in Division II with a steal and score. Deng was aggressive inside early and finished with a dunk for a 7-3 lead.
Half-court offense was a struggle early for the Skyhawks. FLC struggled to get into their sets and even had a five-second call on a baseline out-of-bounds before a travel call the next offensive possession.
Deng created an easy layup for cutting junior forward Cassius Carmichael through as isolation post-up. This seemed to open up the offense as Johnson hit a corner 3-pointer. Deng hit a 3-pointer at the top of the key. Deng went to work from the left side again and spun for a layup for a 22-12 lead with 7:30 left.
“His biggest strength is that he's so versatile,” Mast said about Deng. “He can shoot the three which not a lot of guys his size can. So you got to guard him out there and he can go inside. Against switching teams, we got to get better at it; he's just got to learn to go down there because it is a matchup nightmare. A lot of times, it's not for him to score; they have to over-help and help and it’s him finding others.”
Size could be an issue for the Skyhawks. FLC is small at a lot of positions and got blocked inside on layups and putbacks a few times.
One player who clearly made improvements in the off-season was redshirt sophomore guard Stewart Erhart. Erhart didn’t see any time last year at FLC and redshirted. He crashed the glass for a putback, had active hands, hit a 3-pointer and finished inside for seven early points to help push FLC to a 29-20 lead with two minutes left in the first half. FLC finished the first half up 33-24.
“Stu is just a worker and that's one thing I learned,” Mast said. “I didn't know what to expect after he was here already as a redshirt. He shows up every day. He puts in the time and he doesn't care if it's his number called. He just wants to help and impact winning. When you do that, you get on the floor. When you get on the floor, you get the opportunity to make plays.”
Deng started off the half with a top-of-the-key 3-pointer. Johnson hit back-to-back 3-pointers that hit nothing but net to put FLC up 43-30 with 16:49 to go.
Eastern New Mexico started finding space inside and in the midrange. A transition layup by the Greyhounds cut the lead to 46-39. The Skyhawks’ offense became disorganized, especially when Deng went to the bench.
After a scoreless drought for the Skyhawks, Johnson bailed out the FLC offense with a step-back 3-pointer over a big for a 49-39 lead with nine minutes left.
“He's so talented, almost too talented,” Mast said about Johnson. “When he simplifies his game, he's really good. When he's in rhythm, when he makes just the easy reads, he's really good. Then it allows him to get in the flow to where he does make the tough ones. We're going to rely on him in games like this to make those tough plays when maybe we don't have a great flow.”
Eastern New Mexico got to within striking distance before Johnson continued to make plays. He changed speed very well and used his strong frame to get to a midrange jump shot. Johnson then isolated at the top of the key, crossed over and found Erhart for a corner 3-pointer. Erhart then made a contested step back to give the Skyhawks some breathing room up 60-48 with 3:40 to go.
FLC plays Angelo State at home today at 8 p.m.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
