Blowouts have become a common scene inside Whalen Gymnasium for the Fort Lewis men’s basketball team this season. The Skyhawks haven’t had a win by less than 10 points at home since Nov. 18.
After an early 7-0 deficit, Fort Lewis played some of its best defense of the season to destroy Colorado Christian University 94-62 at home Saturday night.
“I’m really happy with our defensive intensity, we spotted them seven points to start the game,” Skyhawks head coach Bob Pietrack said. “From that point on, defensively we controlled the game, shot the ball well and made free throws tonight which is great because we’ve had two games in a row where we hadn’t.”
Fort Lewis also put on an elite offensive night to complement its defense. The Skyhawks improved to 15-2 overall and 10-1 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference after shooting 55% from the field, 53% from 3-point range and 88% from the free-throw line.
Junior guard Obi Agbim had 18 points off the bench on 7-13 shooting overall and 4-10 shooting from beyond the 3-point line. Junior guard Samier Kinsler had 16 points on 5-9 shooting from the field and 4-8 shooting from deep. Senior guard Malik Whitaker also continued his strong play and finished with 15 points on 6-9 shooting from the field and 1-2 shooting from downtown.
“Obi is doing a very good job taking what the defense gives him,” Pietrack said. “Both teams in a row are scared of him on the drive, they’re playing him as a cold shooter and he’s obviously not a cold shooter.”
The Cougars fell to 8-9 overall and 4-7 in the RMAC after they shot 43% from the field, 28% from 3-point range and turned the ball over 16 times. Jacob Everson led Colorado Christian with 14 points on 5-12 shooting from the field and 4-10 shooting from 3-point range. Bradley Land had 12 points as well for the Cougars.
Colorado Christian got off to a fast 7-0 start but the Skyhawks responded with two scores inside by senior center Sekou Dembele and Whitaker.
An Agbim steal and slam and midrange jumper pushed the Skyhawks ahead 8-7 with 13:27 left after Colorado Christian started turning the ball over.
Both squads traded baskets inside to keep the game tied but two run outs led to Colorado Christian taking a 21-17 lead with 7:30 left.
Two jumpers by junior guard Samier Kinsler and two 3-pointers from Agbim pushed the Fort Lewis lead to 31-23 with 4:04 left. Agbim was taking advantage of the Cougars going under ball screens. But back-to-back 3-pointers in the corner from Colorado Christian cut the Skyhawks lead to 31-29.
Colorado Christian left the Skyhawks bigs open at the top of the key and Fort Lewis did some damage. Both junior forward Brayden Carter and junior forward Isaiah Thompson hit 3-pointers from the top of the key to help push the Skyhawk lead to 41-31 with 55 seconds left and Fort Lewis led 43-31 at half.
A Jhei-R Jones 3-pointer started the second half and Colorado Christian pounded the paint with some inside finishes. Carter got on the offensive glass and used a little english to extend the lead on a reverse layup to push the lead to 52-35 with 17:22 left.
The Skyhawks pressure started causing turnovers and Fort Lewis took advantage. An Agbim 3-pointer increased the lead to 58-37 with 13:25 left in the half.
Off another Cougars turnover, Whitaker tried to bring the house down with a poster dunk down the lane but was fouled on the attempt. He made both free throws to push the lead to 65-41 with 10:10 left.
Fort Lewis had too much size and speed on the defensive end for Colorado Christian to be consistent offensively in the second half. A Whitaker 3-pointer put Fort Lewis 73-43 with 8:23 left in the game.
Kinsler hit back-to-back 3-pointers which barely touched the net to increase the lead to 81-47 with 6:39 left.
“Me and coach talked about it on a one-on-one level but I needed to take a deep breath,” Kinsler said. “Embrace where I’m at, embrace what I’ve got going on and just be here and enjoy it. Since then I’m locked in, I stay in the gym. When my time is called, I use it.”
Fort Lewis hits the road to play at Colorado Mesa on Friday. Colorado Mesa is in first place in the RMAC at 11-0 in the RMAC and 15-2 overall.
“They’ve had this same group together for three years,” Pietrack said. “They’re going to be top five or six in the nation in the poll. They’re very seasoned, very good defensively. They play with great pace and make a lot of 3-pointers. They’re a great team, a great coaching staff. This is a big boy game and we’ve got big boy players.”
bkelly@durangoherald.com
