Akuel Kot sunk a pair of free throws with 1.5 seconds left to lift the Fort Lewis College men’s basketball team to 77-76 road win over Metropolitan State University of Denver on Saturday.
Kot scored 27 points against Metro a day after netting 34 in an upset win against No. 5 Colorado School of Mines.
Kot was named the RMAC Offensive Player of the week, and teammate Brendan La Rose scored the league’s defensive player of the week honor.
The sweep in the weekend's slate lifted FLC to 18-2 overall and 12-2 in conference play – just one game out of first place and the chance to host the postseason RMAC Tournament.
Friday's win over Mines was also the first in program history over a top-five-ranked opponent on the road. Additionally, Saturday's one-point victory against MSU Denver puts Fort Lewis at 3-0 in games decided by five points or fewer this season.
This week's Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week awards are the third for Kot and second for La Rose's careers, all earned this season.
Head coach Bob Pietrack was also recognized by HoopDirt.com as the NCAA Division II Coach of the Week, presented by Just Play Solutions, after the wins.
Pietrack has led FLC to its best start in program history, 18-2, through as many games this season. The award was Pietrack's fifth since its inception in 2015-16, also picking up honors in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2022.
FLC is now ranked No. 13 by the NABC and No. 14 by the D2SCS.
The FLC women made a second-half comeback against MSU Denver on Saturday, but came up short in a 71-66 loss at the Auraria Event Center.
Freshman Lanae Billy scored 27 points, reaching 20 points for the eighth time this season, to lead FLC. Junior Kelsey Sorenson followed with a season-high 23 points and 14 rebounds – her fifth double-double of the season and third in a row.
FLC is now 7-13, 4-10 while Metro improved to 10-10, 8-6.
The Skyhawks will play at home this weekend, facing off against CSU Pueblo at 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. on Friday.
The Bayfield High School basketball teams headed to Montezuma-Cortez High School on Saturday. The boys took a 57-52 fourth-quarter lead in their contest, but the Panthers, led by Austin Wood’s 33 points, survived Jackson Queen’s hot hand to prevail, 66-63.
The Panthers also came out on top in the girls’ game, 39-24, denying the Wolverines their first league win.
The Ignacio boys and girls basketball teams headed to Alamosa on Saturday for 4A/3A Intermountain contests. The Mean Moose prevailed in both.
Alamosa’s boys won 62-43 while the girls beat Ignacio 55-43.
The Centauri girls currently lead the league with a 13-2, 6-0 record, followed by Alamosa (11-4, 3-1), Pagosa Springs (4-11, 3-2), Montezuma-Cortez (4-7, 2-3), Ignacio (4-7, 1-3) and Bayfield (2-10, 0-6).
In the boys standings, Alamosa (13-1, 5-0) is currently in first place, followed by Pagosa Springs (13-2, 4-1), Centauri (12-3, 4-2), Montezuma-Cortez (6-7, 2-3), Bayfield (6-8, 1-5) and Ignacio (3-10, 0-5).
At 7 p.m., Wednesday, the Bayfield boys will host Dove Creek. The BHS squads will then play at Centauri on Friday before hosting Ignacio on Saturday.
The Bobcats will also play at Pagosa Springs on Friday before challenging Bayfield.
