Fort Lewis men’s basketball has reached the NCAA Division II tournament for the second straight year. For the second straight season, it will play Lubbock Christian in the opening round.
The Skyhawks hope to have similar success as last season when they beat Lubbock Christian in the first round, 97-65.
Lubbock Christian finished the season 23-10 overall and 16-6 in the Lone Star Conference, which was third best in the conference.
Here’s a look at Lubbock Christian this season.
Roster
The Chaps’ roster features a good mix of freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors. Lubbock Christian has very balanced scoring like Fort Lewis.
Graduate student guard Tiras Morton leads Lubbock Christian with 16.5 points per game on 56% shooting from the field and 34% from the 3-point line.
Lubbock Christian has four players that average over 10 points per game. Redshirt freshman guard Ethan Duncan averages 14.7 points per game, junior guard Najeeb Muhammad averages 13.7 points per game and junior guard Aaron Gonzales averages 10.5 points per game.
The Chaps have a small roster, with their tallest player being 6-foot-8. And he isn’t a part of the regular rotation.
In Lubbock Christian’s last game against Eastern New Mexico, the Chaps’ tallest starter was redshirt senior Ty Caswell, who’s 6-foot-6 and 200 pounds. All five of the starters can shoot 3-pointers.
It will be a fascinating contrast in styles as Fort Lewis will look to dominate inside with junior forward Brayden Carter and senior center Sekou Dembele, and Lubbock Christian will look to fire away from outside.
There is another contrast in the depth of the two rosters. Fort Lewis routinely plays 10 players, while Lubbock Christian coach Todd Duncan routinely has just seven players generate meaningful minutes.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Lubbock Christian is one of the best 3-point shooting teams in Division II. The Chaps shoot 42.05% from downtown, which is the third best mark in Division II.
Gonzales shoots 49% from 3-point range, Duncan shoots 44%, reserve sophomore guard Kendall Dow shoots 43% from downtown and Muhammad shoots 41%.
Skyhawks coach Bob Pietrack has said he knows his team will give up 3-pointers with the way the Skyhawks play with their pressing full-court defense. But will Lubbock Christian make enough 3-pointers to make Fort Lewis pay?
Lubbock Christian shoots the ball well in general. The Chaps are 14th in Division II with a field goal percentage of 49.79%. Therefore it’s no surprise Lubbock Christian’s scoring margin is 9.6 points per game, ranked 31st in Division II. Its scoring defense of 69.2 points per game is 48th in Division II.
The Chaps take care of the ball well. Their assist-to-turnover ratio is 1.53 assists for every turnover which is 12th best in Division II.
Lubbock Christian is ninth in Division II with only 9.1 turnovers per game. This isn’t surprising with the Chaps, starting five players that can all play guard.
Rebounding isn’t a strength of Lubbock Christian’s, given the size of its roster. The Chaps are getting out-rebounded by an average of 0.8 rebounds per game, which is 183rd in Division II out of 286 teams.
Again, with its size, it’s not surprising Lubbock Christian isn’t a good shot-blocking team. The Chaps are 177th in Division II with 2.7 blocks per game.
Lubbock Christian is toward the bottom of Division II in bench points with its seven-man rotation. The Chaps are 250th in Division II with 14.48 bench points per game.
Common Opponents
Both teams had a few common opponents from both the Lone Star Conference and the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
From the Lone Star Conference, both teams played Angelo State. The Skyhawks lost their first game of the season to Angelo State 77-69 on Nov. 10, while Lubbock Christian beat Angelo State 93-89 on January 13.
Both teams played Eastern New Mexico. Fort Lewis beat Eastern New Mexico 82-62 on Nov. 11. Lubbock Christian lost to Eastern New Mexico three times this season, most recently on Sunday in the Lone Star Conference tournament championship game, 91-88.
Western New Mexico was another common opponent from the Lone Star Conference. The Skyhawks beat the Mustangs 87-68 on Nov. 17, while Lubbock Christian beat Western New Mexico twice, mostly recently 88-53 on February 15.
From the RMAC, both teams played Colorado School of Mines. The Chaps lost to Colorado School of Mines 61-59 on Nov. 10. The Skyhawks split the regular season with the Orediggers and beat them in the RMAC tournament semifinals 87-73 on March 8.
Lubbock Christian beat Regis 73-52 on Nov. 11. Fort Lewis edged Regis 81-80 on January 13.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
