Derrick White proved why he was the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Preseason Player of the Year on Friday night.
White and the No. 8 UC-Colorado Springs Mountain Lions men’s basketball team hosted RMAC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year Alex Herrera and the Fort Lewis College Skyhawks on Thursday at the Gallogy Events Center in Colorado Springs.
The Skyhawks shot 60 percent from the field in the first half en route to a 46-43 lead at the break, but White exploded in the second half to break the UC-Colorado Springs career scoring record. He finished with 37 points, nine rebounds, six steals and five assists to lead the undefeated Mountain Lions (7-0, 1-0 RMAC) to an 85-78 win against the Skyhawks (5-2, 0-1 RMAC), who now have lost two in a row after a 5-0 start.
“It was high-level college basketball (Friday night),” FLC associated head coach Bob Pietrack said. “They made a few more plays, and that was the difference. We competed hard but left some plays out there that we need to make going forward.
“White is a special player, and he had a very special night making some big plays.”
FLC led 67-66 with 7 minutes, 44 seconds to play in the game, but it proved to be its last lead of the game, as White scored 11 points down the stretch to lead the Mountain Lions to the win.
Alex Welsh added another 18 points for the Mountain Lions, who shot 46.2 percent from the field. FLC still finished with a solid shooting night at 55.6 percent, and the Skyhawks connected on 11-of-26 attempts from 3-point territory, while UC-Colorado Springs made 7-of-20 from 3.
The Skyhawks got to the free-throw line just seven times, making every attempt. The Mountain Lions made 18-of-25 free throws in the game.
FLC also outrebounded UC-Colorado Springs 39-25 and led for 25 minutes of the game. But the Skyhawks committed 24 turnovers to just six for the Mountain Lions, leading directly to 37 points for the Mountain Lions.
“We turned it over at critical times, and you can’t do that in a game of that magnitude,” Pietrack said. “That was the difference.”
Herrera finished with a team-high 21 points and 13 rebounds for his seventh consecutive double-double to open the season. However, the all-time career blocked shots leader at FLC was held without a block.
Junior guard Cade Kloster added 14 points, four rebounds and three assists before fouling out for FLC. He and redshirt junior guard Jared Smith both fouled out.
Rasmus Bach had 12 points in the first half but finished with 14 in the game for the Skyhawks. He added four rebounds and three assists.
FLC was without a slew of bench players in the game, including 3-point specialist Kofi Josephs.
“Kofi is going to medical redshirt. He had hip surgery April 1, and he is only about 65 percent. Right now, he can’t go back-to-back nights, and we were at the cutoff to get him a redshirt,” Pietrack said.
The Skyhawks won’t have much time to turn around, as they will face CSU-Pueblo at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in Pueblo.
“The RMAC is very tough, and we need to get ready for a very good (CSU-Pueblo) team,” Pietrack said.
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
