The Fort Lewis College men’s basketball team isn’t used to losing home games under head coach Bob Pietrack. After four consecutive home losses in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play – two in overtime, one by a point and another to mighty Colorado School of Mines – the Skyhawks are eager to get back to winning in Whalen Gymnasium.
Pietrack’s teams had gone 51-2 at home in three-plus seasons until the recent losing skid. An injured and adversity-filled team still has competed at a high level despite a 7-8 overall record and 2-7 mark in conference play. Pride will be on the line this weekend when regional rivals Western Colorado University and Colorado Mesa University visit at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, respectively.
“We’re going to play Fort Lewis basketball,” Pietrack said. “We’ve shown this year when we’re playing well that we’re a good team. We’ve had moments of lapses and haven’t been a very good team. There’s a lot of games to go, and we’re going to cherish these home games and get back on track.”
After they opened the season with an exhibition win at Air Force and a stunning home win against fourth-ranked West Texas A&M, the Western Mountaineers have faded to a 3-12 record and 0-9 mark in the RMAC. Quincy Harding has led Western with 18.7 points per game, while Brady Subart has scored 13.4 while leading the conference with a 46.8 shooting percentage from 3-point range.
“They’re a very dangerous team because of their ability to shoot the 3-point basket,” Pietrack said. “They average almost 80 points per game. We have to be able to guard the 3-point line to be successful.”
FLC has done that this year as the second-best 3-point defense in the RMAC. But the Skyhawks haven’t been able to make 3s of their own. The team is 15th out of 16 teams at 32.4 percent from long range, and the team’s four point guards have combined to go 15-of-58 from 3.
Colorado Mesa (11-4, 6-3 RMAC) is in fifth place in the conference. The team has gone 5-1 at home and 3-3 on the road this year and is 3-1 on the back-end games of the back-to-back RMAC schedule. Connor Nichols leads the Mavericks and the RMAC with 23.6 points per game, and he ranks fourth in the conference with 7.8 rebounds per game. Tommy Nuno, who averages more than 12 points per game, is the conference’s best shooter at 61 percent, while Nichols is second at 57.1 percent. They are set up by Brandon Hoffer, who leads the RMAC with 5.1 assists per game.
“Mesa is very good,” Pietrack said. “Their record states that. They have a lot of players back and some new guys. When the game comes, we have to be ready for it.”
FLC has been led by senior Marquel Beasley’s 17.7 points per game, and he’s coming off a big weekend despite consistently battling foul trouble. He also averages 6.2 rebounds per game even with constant attention down low.
“Teams target Marquel and want to go at him,” Pietrack said. “When Marquel is healthy and has his body right, he moves better, but he’s been in foul trouble because he plays hard and has to guard multiple positions. He just has to keep being himself. He’s having an excellent season out there.”
FLC has seen big play from redshirt freshman forward Brendan Boatwright in recent weeks, and he scored 22 points in the 100-99 loss to UCCS last weekend. The 6-foot-9 forward will continue to get time alongside senior center Otas Iyekekpolor, though it is senior guard Alex Semadeni who leads the team in rebounding with 6.3 per game.
The Skyhawks are without junior forward Riley Farris, who was on track to be one of the team’s leading scorers before shoulder surgery ended his season. The team is also without two scholarship guards who have left the program, and several players are nursing nagging injuries. Still, the Skyhawks plan to compete.
“Our focus this week is to get back to guarding to our capability,” Pietrack said. “Practice reps, we haven’t had everyone healthy and in the mix. We know we have to keep teams to 75 and under. That’s our goal every game, and we let ourselves down the last few games.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
