The Fort Lewis College men’s basketball team broke the school record for most consecutive home wins on Friday, and won the team’s seventh consecutive game of the season on Saturday. After a 7-1 start, 2-0 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, the league champions received even more good news on Monday.
Redshirt freshman forward Riley Farris was thought to have been lost for the season after a knee injury in the team’s fourth game. Head coach Bob Pietrack and the Skyhawks (7-1, 2-0 RMAC) already began moving on, fearing that the injury was a season-ending ACL tear as first diagnosed. However, the team was informed Monday that an MRI revealed no ligament damage to Farris’ knee, just a severe contusion that shouldn’t sideline him anywhere close to as long as what was initially feared.
“It’s a huge break for us,” Pietrack said in a phone interview with The Durango Herald. “We thought he was out for the season, but when he let me know he thought it was feeling better, I got some hope. Without him, it would have been tough to repeat, but now that he’s back, we should be right up there with the best teams in the RMAC.”
Farris is still using crutches and there’s no rush to get him back on the floor with the holiday break coming, and what a present it will be to get the big man back on the floor for FLC.
Rasmus Bach got an early holiday gift from the RMAC on Monday which brought more good news to the rim.
Bach was named the league’s Offensive Player of the Week for the second time in four weeks. He was also named the Defensive Player of the Week in the season’s opening week.
The dynamic junior forward led the Skyhawks to a record-setting 22nd consecutive home win with 28 points and 10 rebounds in Friday’s overtime win against CSU-Pueblo. Bach led FLC with 24 points Saturday in a rout 96-71 rout of New Mexico Highlands.
“I’m not sure what else we can say about Raz,” Pietrack said. “He’s an all-league player in a really good league. Every time he steps on the floor, we’re thankful he’s a Hawk.”
Fort Lewis will take its seven-game winning streak to Colorado Mesa for a 7:30 p.m. Friday tip against a Mavericks team that delivered the last RMAC loss to FLC all the way back on Jan. 15, 2016.
jfries@durangoherald.com
