After a statement victory against West Texas A&M at home last Friday, Dec. 20, the Fort Lewis College men’s basketball team has some time off for the holidays before its next game on Jan. 4. Therefore, now is a good time to look at how the Skyhawks rank in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference in team statistics. FLC is 13 games into its season and has played four RMAC games. The statistics shown will be the average from all 13 games.
Points scored:
FLC is 10th out of 15 RMAC schools in scoring, averaging 73.3 points per game. Adams State is first in the conference with 88.8 PPG. South Dakota Mines is last with 53.7 PPG.
It wasn’t surprising the Skyhawks were up and down with their scoring to start the season. FLC has a first-year head coach in Jordan Mast who’s trying to implement his offensive system with almost an entirely new roster that hasn’t played together.
FLC failed to score 80 points in its first six games. The Skyhawks struggled to shoot the ball from downtown and at the free-throw line. The low point came in a 65-48 home loss against MSU Denver at home on Dec. 5.
The Skyhawks are turning things around on the offensive end as the team gels and finds its collective and individual strengths. FLC has scored at least 75 points in its last four games, with the Skyhawks scoring 80+ in three of those games.
Points allowed:
FLC is seventh in the RMAC in points allowed with 70.5 PPG. CSU Pueblo is first at 64.5 PPG and Adams State is last at 87.7 PPG. While the FLC offense has struggled at times, defense has been more of a constant throughout this first part of the season.
The Skyhawks employ a full-court pressing defense and are very active with trapping. FLC isn’t a huge team but has the athleticism and length to disrupt opposing offenses.
Since allowing 80+ points in its first two games in Florida, FLC has allowed 80+ points once since then and that was an overtime game against Regis.
Field goal percentage:
The Skyhawks are 14th in the RMAC in field goal percentage at 41.2%. MSU Denver is first at 49.7% and South Dakota Mines is last at 39.6%.
FLC’s woes with its field goal shooting come down to the growing pains of a group that hasn’t played a lot of basketball together. Guys are still trying to find their roles and in that process may take some shots they shouldn’t.
The Skyhawks also drive the basketball a lot and try to get to the free-throw line. They don’t always get the calls and when they don’t those usually end up being contested missed field goals.
Fifth year guard Tru Allen has struggled with his shot at times and that’s impacted the team’s field goal percentage since he has the second-most attempts on the team. Allen is shooting 37% from the field.
Three-point percentage:
FLC is 13th in the conference in 3-point shooting at 30.4%. MSU Denver is first at 38.5% and UCCS is last at 27.1%.
Even Mast would admit that 3-point shooting isn’t one of FLC’s strengths. The Skyhawks have guards who excel at getting to the basket. Senior forward Chuol Deng can shoot the deep ball but fell in love with it at times earlier in the season.
The Skyhawks only shot over 35% from downtown once in their first 10 games. In the last three games, FLC has shot at least 35% from 3-point range as the team continues to gel and run better offense.
Free throw percentage:
Shooting free throws usually indicates how well a team is shooting overall. Therefore, it’s no surprise to see the Skyhawks are 13th in free throw percentage in the conference at 68.3%. Black Hills State is first at 77.2% and Western Colorado is last at 58.9%.
FLC failed to shoot 70% from the free-throw line in seven of its first nine games. The Skyhawks’ big men struggled to shoot from the charity stripe at times which is normal. But, the Skyhawks’ experienced guards have had off days at the free-throw line. Senior guard Biko Johnson has had a few bad games and Allen has struggled for most of the year, only shooting 60.4% from the line.
Like other statistics, the Skyhawks have improved recently at the free-throw line and shot at least 75% from the free-throw line in their last four games.
Rebounding margin:
The Skyhawks are 11th in the conference with a -1.6 rebounds per game rebounding margin. Colorado Christian is first at +6.4 RPG and Western Colorado is last with -2.8 RPG.
FLC’s ranking in this category wouldn’t be surprising to anyone who looked at the roster in the preseason. The Skyhawks don’t have a lot of height and size this season; it’s a stark contrast to last season’s squad. Freshman forward Jude Brideba is 6-foot-10-inches and is the tallest guy on the team but he doesn’t play much. Deng and junior forward Keither Florence are the tallest regular rotation guys at 6-foot-7-inches. Florence is 208 pounds and Deng is 205 pounds.
The Skyhawks’ guards do a great job crashing the glass and helping with the defensive rebounding. But regardless of how well FLC’s forwards position themselves with box outs, a lot of times size and height wins out.
Turnover margin:
The Skyhawks are second in the RMAC in turnover margin with a +4.38 turnover margin. This means FLC forces 19.2 turnovers per game and turns the ball over 14.8 times per game. New Mexico Highlands is first with a +5.17 turnover margin and Regis is last at -3.50.
FLC is first in the conference with 19.2 turnovers forced per game. Allen was one of the top players in the nation last season at Northwest Nazarene University in steals per game. The Skyhawks thrive by turning the opposing team over with FLC’s full-court press. FLC has turned over every opponent at least 10 times every game this season. That includes a season-high 20 against Eastern New Mexico at home on Nov. 8.
Having two experienced guards in the backcourt with Johnson and Allen helps keep the turnovers down for FLC. The Skyhawks also have a defensive weapon off the bench in redshirt freshman guard Stewart Erhart. He’s an excellent defender and his hands are always active. He leads the team with two steals per game in only 22.8 minutes per game.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
