The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference’s top two offenses provided a thrilling start to the appropriately named RMAC Shootout in their third meeting of the season Tuesday night.
The teams combined to make 22 3-pointers, but it was a late one for No. 8 Fort Lewis that proved to be the difference maker, as the Skyhawks (25-3) scrapped their way to an 89-86 win.
Joshua Blaylock led FLC with 19 points including a 3-pointer in the final minute that allowed the Skyhawks to close out a game that ended up much closer than the RMAC champs would have liked.
Kody Salcido came off the bench to score 18 points in 16 minutes, and Will Morse finished with 15.
“I’m not sure if it was nerves or just a quicker turnaround than we’re used to, but it was a tough start for us,” Fort Lewis head coach Bob Pietrack said. “Our guys stayed focused and stayed in the game. We didn’t get negative, and we did enough to come back and win. I’m proud of the way we fought through it.”
After a very slow start rattled the home team and a late ThunderWolves run put the outcome in doubt, Blaylock, the freshly named All-RMAC First Team selection, took matters into his own hands.
With his team up by one and CSU-Pueblo in the midst of a late game 20-5 run, Blaylock put some moves on his defender and drilled a step-back 3-pointer from well behind the line to make it a two-possession game.
“Coach called the right play, and I had a couple options,” Blaylock said. “They gave me some room, and I just put it up and it went down.”
Morse did the rest at the foul line, hitting 3-for-4 late that put a halt to the resilient ThunderWolves’ furious comeback.
The Skyhawks won both regular season meetings, 87-76 and 99-85, but struggled mightily to start the action Tuesday.
The upstart ThunderWolves were an inspired bunch out of the gates, and the Skyhawks had trouble shaking off the early jitters. The RMAC’s top offense sputtered out of the gates only managing to make three shots from the field in the game’s first 10 minutes.
CSU-Pueblo (16-13) forced turnovers on defense and pushed the pace on offense to build an early double-digit lead before the late arriving crowd and the home Skyhawks got settled in.
Following the visitors’ 8-0 run, the Skyhawks’ defense clamped down, and the FLC sharpshooters slowly got their legs under them. Morse hit two from long range, and Blaylock added shots from inside and out to pace a 10-0 run that gave FLC the lead after a miserable start.
Salcido scored 10 first-half points off the bench including four consecutive buckets in the half’s last two minutes. Fort Lewis outscored the ThunderWolves 35-21 in the last 10 minutes of the half to carry a 43-39 lead into halftime.
“I’m just looking for the opportunity to help my team,” Salcido said. “I try to play hard every night, and I’m not going to surprise anyone. I just try to make the most of the opportunities, and (Tuesday) I had a lot of chances to score.”
Both teams came out of the locker room scoring at will. It was Fort Lewis that took command with a 9-2 run that gave the home team its first double-digit lead of the game.
Salcido continued the onslaught, and the Skyhawks’ lead swelled to 16 after another 10-0 run.
The ThunderWolves weren’t done, however.
With its back against the wall, CSU-Pueblo clawed back in the game with a 20-5 run that cut the deficit to one with a minute remaining.
That’s when Blaylock, who led the team with eight rebounds, took it upon himself and knocked down the biggest shot of a historic season thus far for Fort Lewis.
“It doesn’t take a genius to know that Josh should have the ball in that scenario,” Pietrack said. “He’s earned the right to have the ball in that situation and he deserved to make the shot.”
Senior Cade Kloster had 10 points and Rasmus Bach scored 10 off the bench. Tuesday’s win was the 13th in a row for Fort Lewis which stays a perfect 14-0 at Whalen Gymnasium this season.
Fort Lewis will host No. 4 Metro State in the RMAC Shootout semifinal at 7:30 p.m. Friday, and Colorado Mines will play Colorado Mesa at 5 p.m. in the other semifinal at Whalen Gymnasium.
The winners will play in Saturday’s championship game scheduled for 7 p.m.
jfries@durangoherald.com
