Slam dunk, Alex Herrera.
A winning combination for the Fort Lewis College men’s basketball team, and a nightmare for most opponents, including the Western New Mexico Mustangs.
One night after fouling out on a technical and being forced to watch his team close out a win against New Mexico Highlands, the 6-foot-9 FLC center was an unbreakable force with 28 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots in a 86-70 win against the Mustangs. It was the fifth consecutive win for the Skyhawks (12-3, 7-2 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference).
“Wasn’t our best game but we did get the result we wanted,” FLC associate head coach Bob Pietrack said.
Herrera put down four big slam-dunks in the game, including an emphatic two-handed slam while being fouled 8 minutes into the second half, helping FLC build a 15-point lead.
“Coach (Daniel) Steffensen at half told me in the first half I was bringing the ball down. Second half he told me to start putting people through the rim, and that’s what I was trying to do,” Herrera said.
The Skyhawks didn’t play their flashiest game, but it was enough to finish off the weekend doubleheader against the two New Mexico teams in the RMAC.
Ten FLC players scored in the game, as head coach Bob Hofman was able to work in reserves for long stretches of the second half.
The Mustangs (1-13, 1-9 RMAC) tried to keep it close in the first half, but Jared Smith hit a big 3-pointer from the corner at the halftime buzzer to give the Skyhawks a 39-30 lead. Western N.M. never got closer.
Cade Kloster scored 12 points on a 2-of-9 shooting performance from the field that was helped by a 7-of-9 effort from the free-throw line. He added four rebounds for FLC.
Austin Haldorson, a transfer from Wyoming, continued his improved play for the Skyhawks with 11 points and 11 rebounds in 19 minutes of action. It was his first double-double.
“He adds so much length, he’s so long and it showed in the rebounding category (Saturday),” Herrera said of Haldorson. “He’s finding his role right now. It took him a little while, but we all have faith in each other, and we think he’s just going to keep improving.”
FLC shot 48.2 percent from the field, while the Mustangs finished at 40 percent. Marcos Castrillo led the Mustangs with 17 points on 5-of-11 shooting, and Brandon Tanter added 13 points.
FLC won the rebounding battle 39-30 and had 18 assists to 10 turnovers.
FLC will hit the road for a tough road trip next week with games at Regis and at Metro State.
“That’s definitely a tough road trip, but it starts Friday night with Regis. We can’t worry about Metro or anything,” Herrera said. “It’s always tough to win on the road, so we have to come with a good week of practice, and like coach said, improve defensively.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
