A tricky game looks to close out the year for the Fort Lewis College men’s basketball team.
Regional rival Adams State University will visit Whalen Gymnasium in Durango at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. It is the final game before the holiday break for the Skyhawks (8-2, 2-2 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference).
“It’s a challenge for us,” said FLC head coach Bob Pietrack. “Stylistically, it’s a contrasting mathcup. Adams had our number last year, beat us twice and in our home gym on senior night. It’s a game we’re focused on and want to win to get back on track.”
FLC split a weekend trip to South Dakota last weekend, with a gritty win at South Dakota School of Mines before a tough shooting night cost the Skyhawks at Black Hills State.
Back at home for a week of practice, albeit during final exam week, was a benefit for FLC with only one game to prepare for this weekend.
Saturday night also will serve as an opportunity for FLC’s loyal home fans to celebrate Pietrack, who earned his 100th career win in charge of the Skyhawks last weekend against South Dakota Mines. Though the students have left campus for winter break, Pietrack knows the support of the community is always behind his team.
“We’re in this situation where we have to play home games when the students are not there every year,” Pietrack said. “We have a very loyal following in our town, and I’m confident the town will come and support us. Home-court advantage in this league is enormous. Anytime you have an RMAC home game, it’s gold. You gotta take care of them.”
FLC’s young team experienced a few growing pains last week. With seven underclassmen and only one senior, those were to be expected despite the team’s 6-0 start.
The Skyhawks remain the No. 2 scoring offense in the conference at 87.7 points per game, while Adams State (3-7, 1-3 RMAC) checks in 12th in the 16-team league at 72.3 points per game. That’s six points fewer than FLC’s defense has allowed to opponents this season, while Adams State has allowed an RMAC-worst 85.6 points per game.
FLC junior forward Riley Farris is third in the conference in scoring at 23.4 points per game. He has scored 20 or more in every game so far this season. Freshman guard Akuel Kot checks in with 15.2 points per game, though he had 12 combined in the two games in South Dakota. Danny Garrick is third on the team at 13.1 points per game, while Will Wittman is into a double-digit average of 10.4 points per game.
“The season is a marathon. We want to stay consistent with what we do,” Pietrack said. “We trust the process of what we have in place and how we want to get better. When you have as young of a team as we do, there’s going to be some bumps. We didn’t have our best game last Saturday, and that’s motivated the guys for this Saturday.”
Adams State doesn’t have a player who gets playing time taller than 6-foot-5. It’s a stylistic contrast to FLC, which likes to play big with a trio of 6-9 forwards in Farris, Brenden Boatwright and Brendan La Rose.
The Grizzlies are led in scoring by 16.4 points per game from Kaelin Crane. Juwan Green has averaged 12.4 points, while Rylan O’Brien comes in with 11.6. Two more have averaged double figures for Adams State. Ricky Norris also checks in with 11 points and more than six rebounds per game.
“Green is a really good point guard, a transfer from St. Mary’s, and he’s played really well in the league,” Pietrack said. “Senior Rickey Norris inside, he’s tough. They’ve also got a couple of good shooters in O’Brien and Logan Longo off the bench.
“Their scores have been all over the place. They beat Highlands the night after we lost to Highlands, so that shows how talented Adams State can play. We gotta play our game with structure, utilize our bigs correctly and control rebounding. Especially since we’re at home, we want to dictate the style of the fight.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
RMAC
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference
Men’s Basketball
Note: NABC ranking in parentheses
TEAM OVERALL RMAC
Dixie State (6) 10-1 5-0
Colorado Mesa 8-3 4-1
Colorado Mines 7-3 4-1
N.M. Highlands 8-2 3-2
Regis 8-3 3-2
UCCS 7-3 3-2
Black Hills State 6-5 3-2
Fort Lewis 8-2 2-2
Westminster 7-4 2-3
Western Colorado 5-6 2-3
CSU-Pueblo 4-7 2-3
Metro State-Denver 5-5 1-3
Adams State 3-7 1-3
Chadron State 2-8 1-3
S.D. Mines 4-7 1-4
Colorado Christian 1-10 1-4
