The Fort Lewis College men’s and women’s basketball teams will play their first games of the seasons this weekend during the Conference Challenge between the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and the Lone Star Conference.
The women’s team will compete first, beginning its season at 5 p.m. Friday against Eastern New Mexico University in Silver City.
On Saturday, FLC will play a second game in Silver City, taking on Western New Mexico University at 6 p.m.
The men’s team will begin its season with a pair of games in Albuquerque on Saturday and Sunday.
The men will also play Eastern New Mexico first, taking on the Greyhounds at 1 p.m. Saturday.
On Sunday, the FLC men will take on Angelo State University at 11 a.m.
The FLC men will play their first two home games against New Mexico teams next week – the University of the Southwest at 7 p.m. Wednesday, and Northern New Mexico College at 3 p.m. Sunday.
The FLC women will play at Western Colorado University on Wednesday before hosting Northern New Mexico College in at 1 p.m. Sunday in its home opener.
In the RMAC preseason coaches poll, the FLC men received one first-place vote and came in fifth overall out of the league’s 15 teams.
The Fort Lewis College women's basketball team was selected to finish 11th in the RMAC, according to the poll.
Colorado Mesa University, the defending men’s regular season and tournament champions, earned 192 points and 12 of the 15 first-place votes. The Mavericks rank No. 4 in the country in the National Association of Basketball Coaches poll.
Colorado School of Mines came in at No. 2, with 183 points and one first-place vote. The Orediggers are also ranked on the national scene, entering the 2021-22 season at No. 5 in the NABC poll.
Black Hills State claimed the No. 3 spot with 163 points and one first-place vote. The University of Colorado at Colorado Springs just edged out Fort Lewis for fourth place with 134 points.
Fort Lewis received 132 voter points and is coming off an abbreviated and hectic 2020-21 season because of the COVID-19 pandemic, finishing with a 7-9 overall record and 6-8 mark in the RMAC, but qualified for the RMAC tournament as a No. 6 seed because of its strength of schedule.
The Skyhawks return a deep and experienced team, led by two-time first team all-RMAC forward Riley Farris and junior forward Brenden Boatwright, who garnered second team honors after a breakout 2020-21 campaign.
In total, FLC welcomes back four starters and 10 players who saw meaningful rotation minutes last year with senior guards Will Wittman, Corey Seng and Logan Hokanson; juniors Dunnell Stafford, Brendan La Rose and Joey Naccarato, as well as sophomores Junior Garbrah and Akuel Kot.
The Skyhawks have also added NCAA Division I transfer JacQuess Hobbs, who made 35 starts and averaged 4.5 points in 90 career games for Eastern Kentucky University from 2017-21.
The Fort Lewis women’s team received 66 votes, coming in a three-way tie with Adams State and UCCS in the poll. Colorado School of Mines is the preseason favorite with 190 points and 11 first-place votes. Colorado Mesa and MSU Denver round out the top three spots with Colorado Mesa receiving a pair of first-place votes.
The FLC women are coming off a 6-9 mark during the abbreviated conference-only 2021 season, including a two-game win streak to conclude the season. The Skyhawks have added 11 players to this season's roster, joining five returners to bring the roster to 16 athletes.
