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Fort Lewis College men’s hoops take down MSU Denver

Skyhawks avenge earlier loss to MSU Denver behind Johnson’s 24 points
Cassius Carmichael of Fort Lewis College puts up a shot while playing Regis University on Dec. 7 at FLC. (Jerry McBride/file)

Fort Lewis College men’s basketball has improved a lot this season and there might not be a better example of that than the Skyhawks’ 81-74 win at Division II No. 23 MSU Denver on Saturday.

One of the Skyhawks’ worst losses of the season came against the Roadrunners at home on Dec. 5. FLC lost 65-48 and scored a season-low in points and field goal percentage at 29%. The Skyhawks’ offense was hard to watch as contested shots clanged off the rim. FLC’s lack of size was apparent against the MSU Denver bigs and the Skyhawks looked like they were in a different class of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference

Saturday was a totally different story. Not only could FLC score against MSU Denver, but the Skyhawks held the lead for the entire second half and stretched it out to 10+ points multiple times. The Roadrunners’ top forwards had solid games, but no other MSU Denver players got going. FLC senior guard Biko Johnson led the Skyhawks once again with an efficient game and had a dagger of a 3-pointer to put FLC up 10 with a minute left.

FLC picked up a critical win after a tough loss to No. 12 Colorado School of Mines on Thursday.

“We're getting better,” FLC head coach Jordan Mast said. “Man, the fight, especially after a tough loss, very proud of this group. Just responding was a tough mentality; we thought we played tough enough to win a game against the top team in the country and just didn't fall our way. So to respond tonight was huge. We played tough; we played like a team and especially in a game where a few guys got in foul trouble again, other guys stepped up big.”

The Skyhawks improved to 14-7 overall and 8-4 in the RMAC after it shot 52% from the field, 38% from the 3-point line and 70% from the free-throw line.

Johnson led FLC with 24 points on 6-11 shooting from the field, 2-5 from 3-point range and 10-13 from the free-throw line. Junior forward Cassius Carmichael had a season-high 18 points off the bench on 7-8 shooting from the field, 1-1 from the free-throw line and 3-6 from the free-throw line.

“He just did a little bit of everything tonight,” Mast said about Carmichael. “Defensively, he had three steals and six rebounds. Offensively, he was such a great cutter. Our guards did a great job getting to the paint … either scoring or finding Cassius and guys cutting. Cassius just did a great job of reading the action, picking his spots and making plays when we needed them.”

MSU Denver dropped to 15-5 overall and 9-3 in the RMAC after it shot 42% from the field, 38% from 3-point range and 86% from the free-throw line. Caleb McGill had 16 points on 5-9 shooting from the field, 3-3 from 3-point range and 3-3 from the free-throw line for the Roadrunners. Former Skyhawk Brayden Carter added 14 points and 12 rebounds for MSU Denver.

bkelly@durangoherald.com