The Fort Lewis College men’s basketball team couldn’t wait to get back on the floor after two weeks off, and the Skyhawks didn’t miss a beat Friday.
Fort Lewis (10-1, 5-1 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) had five players finish in double-digit scoring as it improved to 10-1 overall with a 90-84 win against UC-Colorado Springs to open the new year in front of a packed Whalen Gymnasium.
FLC sophomore Rasmus Bach led the way for Fort Lewis with 25 points, and junior transfer point guard Joshua Blaylock added 20 for the Skyhawks.
Fort Lewis will look to keep the momentum going against perennial powerhouse Metro State at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
“The energy was there, the effort was there and the team concept was there,” said Fort Lewis head coach Bob Pietrack. “We needed a break, and we worked hard to prepare for these two teams because they’re very good teams. I’m not surprised that we played well because it was as fresh as we’ve been since the very start of the season.”
The depth of Pietrack’s team and number of contributors was key in the team’s fifth consecutive win. Bach and Blaylock have been steady all year, but it has been players such as Kody Salcido and Will Morse off the bench who have made a big difference, and they did again Friday afternoon.
Salcido was a menace in the paint, giving one of the RMAC’s leading scorers, Alex Welsh, a tough time. Salcido scored six points, grabbed eight rebounds and provided energy that UCCS (7-6, 4-2 RMAC) couldn’t match. Salcido’s teammates fed off his play.
Morse came up with some clutch baskets and scored in double figures off the bench as he’s done often this season. He had 10 points and Kofi Josephs added 11 as reserves. Cade Kloster also had 10 points despite fighting through physical play.
“Kody’s effort was huge, and it’s such a team game,” Pietrack said. “Kody did well, Kofi Josephs had a great game along with Will Morse. Ryan Brooks came in and played a very strong five minutes, and that’s a team effort. All of these guys work hard, and it’s paying off.”
The first half was tightly contested until the Skyhawks used a 8-0 late first-half run to take control of the game and take a 48-40 lead into halftime.
The Mountain Lions came out with a new plan of attack in the second half and went to work in the paint. The result was a 10-0 run that cut the Skyhawks’ lead to one.
Welsh finished the afternoon with 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Mountain Lions, and Dalton Patton led the team with 24 points.
Fort Lewis answered with a 8-0 run of its own and pushed the lead back to double-digits.
The steady interior defense and offensive execution halted a Mountain Lions potential run time after time.
Down 78-72 with two and a half minutes left, if UCCS had one final run left in them it never got off the ground. Clutch foul shooting stymied a Mountain Lions comeback, as the Skyhawks made nearly everything from the line down the stretch. FLC shot 90 percent from the free-throw line (27-for-30) for the game and never allowed the visitors to get within a possession of tying the game.
“We know that we have a very good team, but we can’t get too big headed,” Bach said. “We’re just finding our rhythm, and we have a lot to improve on.”
That’s a scary thought for RMAC opponents, as the Skyhawks will go for their seventh consecutive win Saturday against the Roadrunners. Right now, however, it looks like nothing can disrupt the gameplan Pietrack and the Skyhawks bring to the floor night in and night out.
“This is a brotherhood,” Blaylock said. “The chemistry and camaraderie we have is really good right now, and we’re just trying to keep that going.”
jfries@durangoherald.com
