A rare televised game, a packed house and a fast start by the opponents would be cause for concern for Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference visiting teams. Instead, it led to the Fort Lewis College basketball team’s best performance of the year Saturday at CSU-Pueblo.
The No. 14 Skyhawks (20-3, 15-2 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) took awhile to get settled, but, when they did, the defending RMAC champions and current league leaders proved why they’re just that. Fort Lewis overcame an early nine-point deficit to take the lead by halftime and pulled away in the second half to beat the ThunderWolves 84-75.
RMAC Player of the Year Joshua Blaylock was phenomenal on the big stage. The senior guard treated Comcast cable viewers to a 25-point performance, with 15 of his game-high total coming in the second half. Alex Semadeni had a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds in what head coach Bob Pietrack described as a “total program win.”
“We got contributions from everyone, but when the lights are brightest and the stage is big, that’s when Josh Blaylock is at his best,” Pietrack said. “He took over when we needed him to, and the other guys took care of the rest when they tried to focus on Josh. Just a great win for our guys.”
Fort Lewis dominated the second half in the first game en route to a 105-97 overtime win, but CSU-Pueblo didn’t let it carry into the rematch. The ThunderWolves (15-7, 13-4 RMAC) came out with a roaring 15-6 start and grabbed the momentum early. When the game settled down and the Skyhawks found some rhythm, they made up ground in a hurry.
FLC went on a 25-8 run to grab an eight-point lead midway through the opening half behind inspired play off the bench from Riley Farris. Farris had nine first-half points on 4-for-5 shooting to spark the Skyhawks.
The ThunderWolves answered back, though, and cut the deficit to two by halftime.
Fort Lewis started the second half with an 11-4 run. The ThunderWolves quickly responded with a 6-0 run of their own and it looked like it would be a back-and-forth battle down the stretch just like the first meeting – but it wasn’t.
Blaylock and Semadeni provided the lift as the Skyhawks took off. They combined to score 19 of the Skyhawks’ last 30 points.
“Alex (Semadeni) was sensational,” Pietrack said. “He’s a young ’Hawk who is still getting his feet under him. He’s just a winning person in general.”
Things got interesting in the final minutes as the ThunderWolves took advantage of some officiating gifts and sloppy play by the Skyhawks to cut the deficit to five, but that’s as close as they would get.
Rasmus Bach had 13 points for FLC, and Farris finished with 12.
The weekend sweep extended the Skyhawks’ winning streak to eight as they head home for a four-game homestand starting with a 7:30 p.m. Friday matchup against Western State. Fort Lewis is a game ahead of Colorado Mines and two ahead of CSU-Pueblo and Westminster in the RMAC standings with five to play.
jfries@durangoherald.com
