When the Fort Lewis College and Dallas Baptist men’s basketball teams finally get set to tipoff in Saturday’s NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball Tournament, the two teams will be sizing themselves up against a mirror image.
The similarities are striking. Both teams are led by first-year transfer guards who have taken their conferences by storm. The Patriots led the Heartland Conference in offense, as did the Skyhawks in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. The Patriots led their league in 3-pointers attempted and made, as did the Skyhawks. The Patriots hung on to win their conference tournament in an overtime thriller, and while it didn’t take overtime, Fort Lewis’ 73-72 win against was certainly a thriller itself.
“Any time you get this far in the season, the teams you match up against are going to be a handful,” Fort Lewis first-year head coach Bob Pietrack said in a phone interview with The Durango Herald. “We have a lot in common with them, but all of these teams have things in common, mostly, we’re all pretty good.”
It has been a dream season for Pietrack in his first year at the helm, as his Fort Lewis Skyhawks have won a school record 27 games. They are currently on the longest winning streak in school history at 15. If they want to make it to 16, the Skyhawks will have to stop an offense that is just as impressive as theirs.
The Patriots (23-8) and Skyhawks (27-3) come into Saturday’s matchup having led their respective leagues in scoring. Dallas Baptist was tops in the Heartland Conference, averaging 87 points per game. The Skyhawks are close behind offensively, averaging 84 points, but FLC has an advantage on defense only allowing 72 to the Patriots’ 78.
For both teams, the offensive attack starts in the hands of their star guards.
Fort Lewis’ Joshua Blaylock has been fantastic in his first year in a Skyhawks jersey and was named to the All-RMAC first team. His 17.8 points per game average is best on FLC’s squad, and he scored double figures in 27 of the Skyhawks’ 30 games. Blaylock’s 25 points in the RMAC Shootout final led all scorers, and his two free throws in the final second sealed the win.
Blaylock carried the Skyhawks at times this season, particularly during a South Dakota trip in which the junior had 37 points in an overtime win at South Dakota Mines. He was treated for dehydration late into the night and proceeded to score 22 points the next night at Black Hills State in another Skyhawks win.
Like Blaylock, Miller had a very successful season in his first year at Dallas Baptist after transferring from Division I’s University of Illinois-Chicago and, before that, Eastern Illinois University. He has cracked double figures in scoring in each of the last 12 games and was named the Heartland Conference’s Newcomer of the Year, which would have been Blaylock’s in a landslide if the RMAC handed out that honor. He also took All-Conference first team honors.
As if Miller wasn’t enough to key in on, the Patriots have an inside presence that FLC must be aware of in Patrick Burke.
“Burke has great hands, and he’s just so strong down there,” Pietrack said. “They’re just an awfully good team all over the place, and it’ll take our best game of the season to get it done.”
Burke is the Patriots’ leading rebounder, and he’s incredibly efficient on the offensive glass. His 81 offensive rebounds are almost twice as many as any FLC player has grabbed on the offensive end. Also playing a big role for Dallas Baptist are Myles Johnson and Shannon Lilly, who both average double-digit scoring along with Burke and Miller.
Fort Lewis also has four players averaging in double figures as Blaylock is joined by Rasmus Bach’s 13.9 off the bench, Cade Kloster (12.9) and Will Morse (11.7).
Bach also led the Skyhawks in rebounds, and he’ll be part of a collective effort with Austin Haldorson, Kody Salcido and Jared Smith, who will try to make life difficult for Burke and the Patriots offense.
“We’ve had great practices this week and we’re just really excited to get this thing going,” Pietrack said.
Cuckoo’s Chicken House, located at 128 E. College Dr., in Durango, will host a watch party Saturday. The game is scheduled to start at 1:30 p.m., and food and drink specials will be offered. Cuckoo’s will host a watch party for each of the remaining Fort Lewis games until the season is over.
The winner of the Fort Lewis and Dallas Baptist game will play the winner between Angelo State and Arkansas-Fort Smith at 4 p.m. Sunday.
jfries@durangoherald.com
If you go
Who: Fort Lewis College vs. Dallas Baptist
What: NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball Tournament watch party
Where: Cuckoos Chicken House, 128 E. College Drive, Durango.
When: 1:30 p.m. Saturday
Twitter: @The7thFreezer
