In Fort Lewis men’s basketball’s storied history, the Skyhawks have been a part of many important regular season matchups in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
But on Friday evening, Fort Lewis will play at Colorado Mesa in a top 10 matchup between the two schools. It’s the first time since the series began in 1976 that both teams are ranked in the top 10 entering a head-to-head battle.
The No. 8 ranked Mavericks (15-2) are first in the RMAC with an 11-0 conference record. Their two losses are to No. 1 West Texas A&M and No. 4 Dallas Baptist.
Fort Lewis and Colorado Mesa were tied atop the RMAC standings last season and were 2022-23 Co-RMAC Regular Season Champions.
“I've been blessed to be part of 24 years of a rivalry that is a clean but heated rivalry,” Fort Lewis coach Bob Pietrack said. “Both sides understand who each other's rival is. We’re not rivals with everybody but when it comes to Mesa, that's our rival point blank. When we've played Mesa in a lot of games throughout the years that have been critical.
“But obviously, this one is unique, with both teams being nationally ranked in the top 10. It's actually pretty unfathomable and impossible for both teams from the western slope to be in the nation's top 10. There's 297 Division II schools. To have two schools geographically this close in this region to be in the top eight, it's close to impossible.”
Colorado Mesa is the top-scoring team in the RMAC with an average of 86.1 points per game. Fort Lewis isn’t far behind in second with an average of 85.7 points per game. The Skyhawks are better on defense in second place, allowing an average of 69.8 points per game, while the Mavericks are fifth after giving up 72.1 points per game.
Pietrack credits Colorado Mesa’s success to their continuity. He said almost every player on the squad has been a part of an RMAC championship and has been playing together for a long time.
The Mavericks are led by redshirt junior forward Trevor Baskin, a 6-foot-9, 200-pound stud who is averaging 16.1 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. Reigning RMAC defensive player of the year Mac Riniker, a redshirt junior guard, is second in scoring with 14.8 points per game. Redshirt junior Owen Koonce is the only other Maverick who averages double-figures with 13.5 points per game.
“The first two players that need to be talked about are Baskin and Riniker,” Pietrack said. “Those guys have been the cornerstone to their success the last few years. Both are great players and great competitors.
“What makes Baskin good offensively is he’s a three-level scorer. He can shoot it, he can drive it and he can finish above the rim. We're going to have to do a great job on everybody on their team. We're going to need to have some of the balls bounce our way.”
Pietrack said he’s not worrying about anything specifically with Colorado Mesa’s high-powered offense. He’s focused on his team’s growth on the defensive end and in general. Pietrack wants his team to peak at the right time so that the Skyhawks are ready to play their best basketball when it counts.
“The biggest stat that we are always concerned with on both sides of the ball are our points per possession,” Pietrack said. “We're 38th in the country offensively and 33rd defensively in points per possession in all of Division II.
“Our goal in every game is to impose our will defensively and to have less and less bad and more and more good. I know that sounds elementary, but it's just what it is. We sometimes will have lulls defensively, where we think we can clean up. I thought we did a really nice job against Colorado Christian in the second half of just not having any lulls. Then offensively, we want to share the ball better and we want to get better shots at all times.”
Fort Lewis and Colorado Mesa face off on Friday at 7:30 p.m. Skyhawks fans who are traveling to Grand Junction are encouraged to wear black. The game will be livestreamed online at rmacnetwork.com.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
