A long season of tough competition caught up to the Skyhawks.
The Fort Lewis College men’s basketball team was gassed in the final 30 minutes of its season, and it came at the most crucial juncture of the season. Even though FLC won 20 games in the regular season, the No. 5 Skyhawks still had to go on the road in the opening round of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Shootout to face No. 4 CSU-Pueblo.
The Skyhawks jumped out to a 13-point lead in the first half, but it quickly was erased, as the ThunderWolves cut FLC’s lead to 29-26 by halftime.
Jed Knafelc sparked the ThunderWolves to a big second half, and they hung on to beat a fatigued Skyhawks team 72-63 in the quarterfinals of the RMAC Shootout.
“It was a really tough game. We were up early, played great, but, once again, I think our depth caught up to us a bit,” FLC head coach Bob Hofman said. “I would say their depth one through 10 ended up trumping us.”
The loss will end the season for FLC, as the Skyhawks will finish outside of the top eight in the NCAA Division II South Central Region and will not advance to the regional tournament.
It was the end of the career of Alex Herrera, the greatest player in FLC men’s basketball history. The All-American center from Ignacio finished Tuesday’s game with 17 points and six rebounds. CSU-Pueblo held Herrera under 10 rebounds twice in 29 games this season. He recorded double-digit rebounds in 22 other games.
“Alex, they just swarmed him, and we missed outside shots around him that would have opened him up,” Hofman said. “Now, collectively, we will get ready for the post-Alex Herrera era. I’m confident we will do it together as a group.”
The Skyhawks, who battled through illness late in the season, fought until the end but missed free throws late that cost them a chance to get closer than five points. A Jared Smith 3-pointer cut the ThunderWolves’ lead to 66-60 with 1 minute, 4 seconds to go, and Cade Kloster made another big 3 to make it 68-63 with 36 seconds to play.
Trailiing 69-63 with less than 30 seconds to go, Kloster missed a quick 3, and the ThunderWolves made 1-of-2 free throws to ice the game.
“The guys fought valiantly the last three minutes there, a real spirited comeback, but it wasn’t enough,” Hofman said.
Knafelc scored a game-high 23 points. Lear Odessa and Rico Spikes each added 10.
Smith scored 13 points and had six rebounds for FLC, and Lucas Archuleta had 11 big points off the bench in his final game in an FLC uniform. Kloster added nine points, and Austin Haldorson scored eight after scoring five in the first 5 minutes of action.
FLC will lose Archuleta, Kevin Flohr and Herrera to graduation. Hofman is confident in the group returning that they can repeat the success of this year’s 20-win season.
“I’m really proud of this year’s team. It was a very emotional ending because of how great of a year it was,” Hofman said. “We lost played to injury, stuck together and got 20 wins. They battled and did everything we asked, and that’s what it’s all about.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
