Fort Lewis College simply couldn’t make a free throw, and it was costly Saturday afternoon in Albuquerque.
The Skyhawks (1-1) shot only 17-of-34 from the foul line inside Dreamstyle Arena, more famously known as The Pit, the home of the University of New Mexico Lobos. The 50 percent effort sent FLC to a gut-wrenching loss, 74-70, against Western New Mexico (2-0) to end the New Mexico Classic.
“You can’t miss 17 free throws and win a college basketball game. It’s pretty simple,” FLC head coach Bob Pietrack said. “You don’t have to be a math whiz to figure that out.”
The loss came on the heels of a big 82-74 win Friday against Eastern New Mexico, a game that worried the Skyhawks more during the opening weekend of the season.
After beating the Greyhounds, the Skyhawks were unsatisfied going home 1-1.
“We were very tired from a physical game with Eastern,” Pietrack said. “We never had enough rhythm to sustain a win today. It’s very disappointing.”
Both teams got out to a horrendous shooting start in the first half, as neither team adjusted to playing in a much larger arena than a day earlier. The Mustangs led 34-30 at the break behind 35.7 percent shooting from the field, while FLC was held to only 26.5 percent. The Skyhawks also were only 9-of-17 from the foul line in the first half, but that department only got worse while the field-goal percentage did go up to 46 percent in the second half.
Still, the Skyhawks had a chance to win the game. Western New Mexico had its big lead of the game at 42-32 early in the second half, but FLC responded behind the offense of Marquel Beasley and Riley Farris. FLC tied the game at 46-46 with 12:21 to play after Alex Semadeni made a pair of free throws, and it was tied 53-53 with 9:42 to play after Farris scored his 18th point of the game on a jump shot.
Beasley’s foul line trouble was only beginning. He missed three of four attempts in the next few minutes, but senior forward Otas Iyekekpolor rebounded one of his misses and put it back in to give the Skyhawks a 56-55 lead with 7:55 to go at a media timeout.
On the other end, Iyekekpolor grabbed a big rebound, and then he hit a 3-pointer and another layup to give the Skyhawks a 61-56 lead with 6:36 to play. A Mike Ranson 3-pointer had the Skyhawks up 64-58 for its biggest lead of the second half, but then it all slipped away in the final 4:30 of play.
Beasley missed two more free throws, and CJ Vanbeekum hit a 3-pointer for the Mustangs. After a Beasley turnover, Jon-Reese Woodson scored a layup to give Western New Mexico back the lead for good at 65-64.
FLC didn’t go down without a fight. Ranson hit another 3 to cut the Western New Mexico lead to 69-67, but another Woodson jumper put the Skyhawks away, as they couldn’t make free throws in the final minutes to keep up with the Mustangs.
Beasley finished 4-of-14 at the foul line but had a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds. He was 6-of-12 shooting from the field and played 38 of the game’s 40 minutes.
Farris finished with a team-high 18 points, and he grabbed seven rebounds in 27 minutes of play despite an injured left shoulder. Semadeni added 10 points and nine rebounds, while Iyekekpolor had nine points and 10 rebounds. Ranson also had nine points on 3-of-9 shooting.
In the end, 15 turnovers and 17 missed free throws cost FLC.
“It’s hard to have excuses,” Pietrack said. “For whatever reason, we had a very slow start. Then we just couldn’t make free throws. Marquel and Otas combined to go 6-for-20. We can’t leave that many points out there.”
Woodson led the Mustangs with 15 points and six rebounds. Vanbeekum and Willie McCray each had 12 points, and McCray had six rebounds. Tony Avalos added 11 points and five rebounds to help the Mustangs go unbeaten at the New Mexico Classic with wins against FLC and New Mexico Highlands.
FLC will play its next three games at home against smaller schools before it will begin Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play Dec. 1 at Adams State in Alamosa.
First up is Northern New Mexico at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in the team’s opener, which is also the Nike N7 game to support Native American athletics.
“I think we can get a lot better,” Pietrack said. “It’s encouraging. We have a lot of guys now who have game experience under their belt. We gotta get home, get better and really prepare for RMAC play.
“Our league is so difficult, and it’s wide open this year. We’re on a mission to get better to try to compete in it. Part of growing sometimes is losing.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
