Thursday night’s 81-76 win against MSU Denver was a game Fort Lewis College men’s basketball needed and got.
FLC was 2-4 entering its first Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference game on Thursday against MSU Denver. The Skyhawks had lost four consecutive games against the hardest schedule in the country, according to FLC men’s basketball head coach Jordan Mast, and had constantly battled injuries since the beginning of the season.
Losing five consecutive games to drop to 2-5 overall would be a brutal start for a team that has big postseason aspirations, and it would be a hit to the psyche of FLC’s players, many of whom are new to the program and trying to find their footing.
The Skyhawks used their defense to avoid five consecutive losses, forcing the Roadrunners into 22 turnovers to come from behind after trailing at halftime for the victory. After turning over MSU Denver, the Skyhawks outscored the Roadrunners in points off turnovers, 24-12, in the victory.
“Our pressure picked up,” Mast said. “We were more connected on the defensive end … to force that pressure; it leads to easier baskets. Especially second half, we were able to force a lot of turnovers that led to us getting to win … and trying to slow down Quave Propst-Allison … he's tough to contain. We did a better job second half of not making stuff easy, even though he still scored and did some good things.”
FLC improved to 3-4 overall and 1-0 in the RMAC after it shot 40% from the field, 21% from the 3-point line and 82% from the free-throw line. Fifth-year forward Chuol Deng led FLC with 19 points on 7-14 shooting from the field, 1-6 from the 3-point line and 4-4 from the free-throw line, along with eight rebounds and a season-high seven steals. Redshirt sophomore guard Stewart Erhart finished with 18 points on 4-11 shooting from the field, 0-1 from 3-point range and 10-13 from the free-throw line.
MSU Denver dropped to 1-6 overall and 0-1 in the RMAC after it shot 46% from the field, 39% from 3-point range and 69% from the free-throw line. Propst-Allison led the Roadrunners with 18 points on 7-16 shooting from the field, 4-9 from 3-point range, 0-1 from the free-throw line, six assists and five rebounds.
FLC got off to a good start and led 10-5 early in the first half thanks to seven points in the first four minutes from Deng. The two teams exchanged the lead multiple times in the first half, with MSU Denver finishing the half on a 6-0 run to take a 33-31 lead into halftime.
The Skyhawks responded in the second half, and a 3-pointer by freshman guard Tate Ziemkiewicz gave FLC some room with its 51-45 lead with 12:12 left. Ziemkiewicz led the FLC bench with nine points. Mast said the original plan for Ziemkiewicz was to redshirt him, but with all the injuries, he’s taken advantage of his opportunity. Mast praised Ziemkiewicz’s intelligence and said he knows what FLC wants out of him.
FLC led by double digits throughout most of the middle of the second half. The Skyhawks led 72-60 with 3:48 left, before MSU Denver went on a run with four 3-pointers in the last two minutes to cut FLC’s lead to four with 13 seconds left. But FLC made its free throws to close it out.
Free throws were key for FLC in the second half. The Skyhawks allowed MSU Denver to hit eight 3-pointers in the second half, but they lived at the free-throw line, going 24-29 from the charity stripe in the last 20 minutes. Erhart led the way with 11 free-throw attempts in the second half.
“He was being super aggressive,” Mast said about Erhart. “On motion stuff, he was able to pick his spots and get into guys. He's really good at drawing contact, kind of similar to Biko (Johnson) last year. Stew (Erhart) and Chuol, we need them to play well and score.”
Mast was happy about how his team moved the basketball, but he knows there are still too many possessions when the Skyhawks don’t move it and are stagnant with individual basketball; they struggle.
FLC stays up in Denver to play at Regis on Saturday at 1 p.m.
After having the best start to a season in eight years, the FLC women’s basketball team has come down to earth with back-to-back losses; the latest was a 95-81 loss at MSU Denver on Saturday.
FLC dropped to 5-2 overall and 0-1 in RMAC after it shot 41% from the field, 33% from 3-point range and 65% from the free-throw line. Sophomore guard Katie Lamb led the Skyhawks with 18 points on 5-15 shooting from the field, 3-10 from the 3-point line, 5-6 from the free-throw line and a team-high six points. Freshman guard Savanna Dotray added 14 points off the bench on 6-14 shooting from the field, 1-2 from 3-point range and 1-2 from the free-throw line.
MSU Denver improved to 2-5 overall and 1-0 in the RMAC after it shot 50% from the field, 58% from 3-point range and 70% from the free-throw line. Jadyn Watts led the way with 24 points on 7-9 shooting from the field, 3-3 from 3-point range, 7-9 from the free-throw line and 11 rebounds.
The Roadrunners jumped out to a 26-19 lead after the first quarter, but FLC responded and tied the game at 42 at the half. After leading by four after the third quarter, MSU Denver pulled away, outscoring FLC 30-20 in the fourth, in part by making five 3-pointers and 11 free throws. MSU Denver’s 95 points are the most FLC has allowed this year.
FLC plays at Regis on Saturday at 3 p.m.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
