When head coach Bob Pietrack and associate head coach Daniel Steffensen took the coaching reins at Fort Lewis College, nobody would have expected what would happen inside Whalen Gymnasium.
The 12th-ranked Skyhawks (22-3, 17-2 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) took down rival Colorado Mesa in a 90-71 win that was never in doubt Saturday, but the victory also marked a ridiculous achievement. The coaches moved to a perfect 28-0 at home and extended the longest home winning streak in school history to 30 games dating back to the 2014-15 season.
“It’s an awesome accomplishment, it really is,” Pietrack said of the streak. “But it’s something we don’t talk about. Now, five, 10, 15 years from now when the guys all get back together, it’ll be really cool.”
Brandon Wilson was a force to be reckoned with down low Saturday with a career high 20 points and 14 rebounds to lead Fort Lewis. Joshua Blaylock and Rasmus Bach each added 18 points, while Will Morse, now fifth in school history in assists, added nine more to his total.
Fort Lewis started slow and was held scoreless for nearly 3 minutes to start the game. However, they quickly found some life with a 14-4 run, and the catalyst was Wilson. The FLC center was a monster on the interior in the first half and had eight points and eight rebounds in the game’s first 12 minutes to set a tone that would last all night.
Wilson has been fighting through a minor hand injury, but that only seems to have ignited the big man.
“I think the tape has been helping my shot a little bit,” he said.
Wilson’s effort was soon matched by Blaylock, who drilled four 3-pointers in the first 20 minutes, including a long buzzer-beater to end the half that gave Fort Lewis a 45-31 halftime lead.
The pesky Mavericks (7-18, 6-13 RMAC) did well to keep the Skyhawks from running away, but, as usual, it was only a matter of time. Every time the FLC lead was trimmed to 11, the Skyhawks wouldn’t budge any further. Eventually, Fort Lewis worked the lead up to 20, and the school-record home winning streak reached a remarkable 30 games.
Thirty-one will be a tough one, however, as Colorado School of Mines comes to town next Friday for the first meeting between the two RMAC powerhouses this season. Colorado Mines is ranked No. 25, and FLC stands at No. 12. Both teams will likely move up in the polls when they are released Wednesday.
“We got done what we needed to get done this weekend, but now, we can turn our attention to Feb. 17,” Pietrack said. “Mines is a championship program. They’ve got championship players, championship coaches and championship resources. We’re going to have a game that is championship worthy.”
The Orediggers (20-4, 15-3 RMAC) have won 13 of their last 14 games and certainly can’t wait to face Fort Lewis after losing the RMAC Shootout’s title game last season in devastating fashion at Whalen Gymnasium the last time the two teams met. This time, first place in the conference will be on the line, and the winner will have a tiebreaker that would grant them the right to host this year’s conference tournament if the two teams end up tied in the standings.
“I’m just going to tell the guys to be themselves,” Bach said. “Enjoy it. Be in the moment. We’re hoping for a packed house with a lot of energy. If we outwork them, I think that game is ours.”
The RMAC heavyweight bout for league supremacy will take place at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
jfries@durangoherald.com
