It would be silly to ever count out the 2025-2026 Fort Lewis College men’s basketball team, especially after Saturday night’s come-from-behind 78-76 win at Black Hills State.
The Skyhawks have had plenty of comebacks this season, but none had the combination of dramatics and importance as Saturday night’s, capped off by senior forward Keither Florence’s layup at the buzzer for the win.
FLC was down 48-29 with 17:10 left in the second half against the Yellow Jackets, who were the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference’s only ranked team at No. 15 in the Division II top 25. The Skyhawks were undefeated in the RMAC coming into this game, but Black Hills State was only one game behind in the RMAC standings in second place.
The Skyhawks chipped away at the lead in the second half, made their free throws late, and got a key turnover to set up the Florence finish.
“Grit, toughness, believing, not giving up and just trying to chip away at it; that's why I'm just so proud of them,” FLC men’s basketball head coach Jordan Mast said. “It was easy, especially with how good they are, you could have just said, ‘Oh, man, we don't have it tonight,’ and take a loss … Today was probably one of the best comebacks I've ever been a part of.”
FLC improved to 10-5 overall and 8-0 in the RMAC after it shot 39% from the field, 18% from 3-point range and 67% from the free-throw line.
Skyhawks redshirt sophomore guard Stewart Erhart, the reigning back-to-back RMAC Player of the Week, led the Skyhawks with 20 points on 7-19 shooting from the field, 0-2 from 3-point range, 6-7 from the free-throw line and a team-high seven rebounds. Florence and redshirt sophomore Jaxon Smith each added 15 points.
It was an impressive week off the bench for Florence, who averaged 13.5 points on 70% shooting in only 17.5 minutes per game in those two games.
“When he's totally dialed in and ready to go, he's one of the most unstoppable bigs in the conference,” Mast said about Florence. “What we've been preaching to him is, ‘How do we do that consistently?’ … On this road trip, he was just fantastic in both games. We don't win these games without him getting us some tough baskets and rebounds in the post.”
Black Hills State fell to 13-3 overall and 6-2 in the RMAC after it shot 43% from the field, 27% from 3-point range and 76% from the free-throw line.
Cam Lowe, one of the five scorers in the RMAC, led the Yellow Jackets with 25 points on 7-11 shooting from the field, 4-8 from 3-point range and 7-10 from the free-throw line. Mast said Lowe is so good because he can always make a play even when a defense stops him. Lowe hit some tough shots over the Skyhawks.
The first half was close for the 13 minutes of the first half before the Yellow Jackets pulled away late to lead 40-27 at the half. Black Hills State was shooting 46% from the field and made 11 of its first 12 free throws in the second half.
Mast said his team struggled to create looks for each other in the first half, leading to turnover problems. He credited Black Hills State with denying any actions to Smith and a few other players, which shut down a lot of passing lanes. On offense in the first half, the Yellow Jackets did a good job of using a pick and a short roll for good shots, according to Mast.
In the second half, the Skyhawks still didn’t create a ton for others (four assists to 15 turnovers for the game), but they were able to get downhill to the basket on offense. The defense ramped up and started forcing more turnovers. FLC did a much better job of getting to the free-throw line, with 27 second-half attempts compared to only nine in the first half.
The Skyhawks cut the margin down to single digits for the first time in the second half with 9:24 left, but Black Hills State had a double-digit lead as late as 6:33 left. FLC continued to get to the free-throw line and a free throw by Florence gave the Skyhawks a 74-73 lead with 1:04 left.
Despite being back in the game, FLC ran into trouble when two of its top three players, Erhart and fifth-year forward Chuol Deng, both fouled out in the last three minutes. However, the newest Skyhawk was there to help save the day.
Freshman guard Trey Curry stepped in and delivered one of the biggest plays of the day. Curry had played in the three previous games after transferring to FLC mid-season, and had to step up with Erhart out. He drove to the basket with FLC down 76-74 with six seconds left, and he was fouled with a second left. Curry was shooting less than 50% from the free-throw line in the previous three games, but stepped up to hit both free throws to tie the game.
“He had to come in as a freshman in his fourth college game and play some huge minutes against a really good team on the road,” Mast said about Curry. “He continued to make tough plays and do all the little things … For him to step to that line as a freshman in his fourth game with us and knock them both down; what a stud tonight.”
Black Hills State still had a chance at a shot with a second left, but the inbounder under the basketball overthrew the ball out of bounds. This gave FLC the ball under its own basket, and gave Mast a chance to set Florence up with a screen-the-screener baseline out-of-bounds play for the win.
FLC comes home to play Colorado Christian on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
Skyhawks women struggle on offense in road loss to Black Hills State
The FLC women’s basketball team’s poor offense doomed their chances against Black Hills State on Saturday in a 59-52 road loss.
FLC actually had a lead at halftime, but was outscored 20-9 in the third quarter as the Yellow Jackets took control of the game.
“The two things that stood out to me the most were turnovers and rebounds,” FLC women’s basketball head coach Lauren Zuniga said. “They outrebounded us, and they scored off our turnovers, so they capitalized on our mistakes. That was kind of the killer for us.”
FLC dropped to 11-5 overall and 4-4 in the RMAC after it shot 37% from the field, 17% from 3-point range and 79% from the free-throw line. Junior Makaya Porter led the Skyhawks with 18 points on 7-17 shooting from the field, 0-2 from 3-point range and 4-5 from the free-throw line.
Black Hills State improved to 10-5 overall and 7-1 in the RMAC after it shot 38% from the field, 7% from 3-point range and 73% from the free-throw line. Taylin Serlin led the Yellow Jackets with 12 points on 6-10 shooting.
It was a solid start for FLC with a 12-12 tie after the first quarter and a 27-23 lead at the half.
“We came out defensively really great,” Zuniga said. “I liked our defense most of the game, and we were just scoring a little bit better in that first half.”
Black Hills State made its move in the third quarter by getting out in transition off FLC turnovers, according to Zuniga. One of the main culprits of the turnover issue was FLC sophomore guard Claudia Palacio Gámez, who finished with seven turnovers to only two assists. Zuniga said she struggled with some unforced turnovers, and the Yellow Jackets did pressure her full-court at times.
By the time the third quarter was over, Black Hills State was up 43-36, and FLC couldn’t come back in the fourth.
The Skyhawks play at home on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. against Colorado Christian. Zuniga is looking forward to defending home court as FLC has struggled more at home since she took over last season.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
