Fort Lewis College’s men’s basketball team needed two of its top players to pull out a 90-84 win at home against the University of Colorado Colorado Springs on Saturday; redshirt sophomore Stewart Erhart and fifth-year forward Chuol Deng answered the call.
The Skyhawks were in a battle with the Mountain Lions that had enough lead changes to give a mathematician a headache. Then Deng and Erhart stepped up like good program veterans do, scoring 14 of FLC’s last 16 points to pull away for the win.
“Our defense didn't have the same pop it usually does,” FLC men’s basketball head coach Jordan Mast said. “We really struggled to contain their guards... On the offensive end, we kind of take took advantage of their pressure, and we scored some easy ones ... credit to them, they're better than I thought in transition ... But, I’m still happy that we were able to pull out the win.”
FLC improved to 12-5 overall and 10-0 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference after it shot 45% from the field, 33% from 3-point range and 67% from the free-throw line.
Deng led the Skyhawks with 25 points on 7-12 shooting from the field, 1-3 from 3-point range and 10-14 from the free-throw line. Redshirt sophomore guard Jaxon Smith added 23 points on 7-11 from the field, 4-8 from 3-point range and 5-6 from the free-throw line. Erhart added 18 points.
UCCS dropped to 10-8 overall and 5-5 in the RMAC after it shot 39% from the field, 21% from 3-point range and 72% from the free-throw line. Mario Williams Jr. led the Mountain Lions with 26 points on 9-17 shooting from the field, 2-8 from 3-point range and 6-6 from the free-throw line.
The game got off to an unfortunate start for the Skyhawks with senior forward Cassius Carmichael leaving the game a minute into the first half with a head injury. Carmichael had to go to the emergency room and get 17 stitches. It was a huge blow to the Skyhawks’ defense to lose the reigning RMAC Defensive Player of the Week in Carmichael. Mast expects Carmichael to return for this week’s games with a mask.
FLC had a six-point lead early in the second half, but UCCS came right back and took a 35-27 lead with five minutes left in the first half. Mast wasn’t happy with his team’s pressure during this stretch, which resulted in UCCS taking advantage of man-up opportunities after breaking the press.
Despite the defensive lapses, the Skyhawks fought back to tie the game at 45 going into halftime. A big part of that was Deng’s 18-point first half. It was a nice bounce back for Deng after not scoring in double figures in the previous three games.
“He did what seniors do; he did what the team needed,” Mast said about Deng. “Sometimes that's just rebounding; sometimes it's moving the ball. Tonight, we needed him to score and rebound and basically do everything. When Cassius went down, he stepped up. He played a ton of minutes, and he did a little bit of everything.”
It was the quintessential back-and-forth RMAC game in the second half, with UCCS’ five-point advantage the biggest of the second 20 minutes.
The matchup was almost like looking in a mirror since both teams like to press the whole game. Mast said UCCS’ pressure isn’t as aggressive and unpredictable as FLC’s. What wasn’t predicted was Mast pulling out of the press late in the second half since the Skyhawks were defending in the half-court very well. But it worked to get the stops needed late in the game, and Erhart really led the way at the free-throw line late in the game.
FLC will play at home against Colorado School of Mines at 7:30 p.m.
The FLC women’s basketball team looked like it was heading for another win, but third-quarter woes cost the Skyhawks another win, and FLC lost to UCCS, 75-68, at home on Saturday.
FLC led by 13 at halftime, but it was outscored 22-4 in the third quarter after shooting 15% from the field, getting to the free-throw line zero times and turning the ball over 10 times. A once-healthy lead turned into a five-point deficit heading into the fourth quarter, and the Skyhawks trailed by as many as 12 points in the fourth.
After the loss, the Skyhawks dropped to 12-6 overall and 5-5 in the RMAC after they shot 41% from the field, 41% from 3-point range and 62% from the free-throw line. Sophomore guard Katie Lamb led the Skyhawks with 16 points on 5-7 from the field, 4-6 from 3-point range and 2-2 from the free-throw line. Sophomore guard Claudia Palacio Gámez added 15 points on 4-8 from the field, 3-5 from the 3-point line and 4-4 from the free-throw line.
UCCS improved to 11-7 overall and 7-3 in the RMAC after shooting 42% from the field, 30% from 3-point range and 80% from the free-throw line. Amyah Moore Allen led the Mountain Lions with 28 points on 9-20 shooting from the field, 2-4 from 3-point range, 8-11 from the free-throw line, eight rebounds and six blocks.
It was another excellent start for the Skyhawks with a 21-14 lead after the first quarter. FLC went 5-5 from the 3-point line and then took a 44-31 lead into halftime. One of the big reasons FLC was up at the half was its guard play, with Lamb scoring all 16 points in the first half, and Palacio Gámez had 13 of her 15 points in the first half.
The Skyhawks third-quarter woes coincided with UCCS shooting 46% from the field.
A big advantage for UCCS the whole game was at the foul line; UCCS finished with 40 free throws, with 23 of those coming in the second half. FLC, on the other hand, finished with 21 free throws and only five in the second half. UCCS’s free-throw advantage resulted in three Skyhawks fouling out.
FLC plays at home on Thursday against Colorado School of Mines at 5:30 p.m.
The FLC men’s and women’s indoor track and field teams had some strong results on Friday and Saturday in Albuquerque and Colorado Springs, with multiple personal records and meet records.
Eight FLC men’s track and field athletes competed in the Colorado Running Company Invitational in Colorado Springs, and the rest of the Skyhawks indoor track athletes competed at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Invitational in Albuquerque.
The men’s 5-kilometer runners went to Colorado Springs, with sophomore Evan Morozowich leading the way in the small meet with a second-place finish in an elevation-converted time of 14 minutes and 30 seconds, according to FLC cross country and track and field head coach Dalton Graham, which is almost a 20-second PR. It’s an impressive time, especially considering Morozowich was running in the 16:40s in high school.
“It's really just maturing,” Graham said about Morozowich. “It's more time in the weight room learning how to take care of his body, too, just with nutrition ... and then just accumulating miles with really good guys around him. It's really from every angle doing it consistently ... the sky's the limit.”
Sophomore Crewe Resendez finished ninth in the Colorado Springs 5K, setting a 10-second PR, and senior Asante Maez finished in the top 10.
In Albuquerque, senior Hannah Hartwell led the women with a second-place finish in the women’s 3000-meter race, breaking the facility record with a non-elevation converted time of 10:02.77. Senior Alliyah Molina wasn’t far behind in fifth in 10:15.39. In the 600, freshman Eliana Angelino finished sixth with a non-elevation converted time of 1:30.94.
On the men’s side, sophomore Armando Fuentes had a great meet, finishing fourth in the 400, eighth in the 800 and sixth in the 4x400 relay. Graham said Fuentes’ freshman season was tough with a back injury, but he rebounded by putting in a lot of good work in the summer and fall to prepare for track.
Junior sprinter Zachary Gaumont returned to the track after competing on the Skyhawks football team in the fall. He was the 60-meter RMAC champion last indoor season, but Gaumont finished 11th in the 200 and 13th in the 300 in Albuquerque.
“He's in a good spot,” Graham said about Gaumont. “With the 60 being a little bit more technical, it's not like cross, where you're just sharpening up this base fitness. These guys are very focused on football for half a year and that switch over, they’re kind of relearning things ... He's even a better spot than he started last year.”
Senior Elijah Smith had a nice return to competition after redshirting last season, finishing sixth in the 3000.
FLC will compete in the New Mexico Team Open in Albuquerque on Friday and Saturday.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
