The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference’s top offensive unit tried its luck at Whalen Gymnasium on Saturday, and the RMAC league leaders sent them to the bus shaking their heads.
It was the No. 10 Fort Lewis College Skyhawks (21-3, 16-3 RMAC) that provided the offensive explosion, shooting 55 percent from the field and draining nine first half 3-pointers to build a lead that even the top 3-point shooting team in the RMAC couldn’t overcome. Fort Lewis was the team that got the most stops on defense, as the Skyhawks beat CSU-Pueblo 99-85.
Rasmus Bach racked up his third double-double in the last four games for Fort Lewis with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Joshua Blaylock led the offense with 21 points and Will Morse added 17 points in the Skyhawks’ ninth consecutive victory.
“It wasn’t personal that they have the league’s best offense, we just wanted to come out and take care of business like we do every night,” Morse said. “We can shoot the lights out on any given night, but we take pride in our defense, too.”
The Skyhawks used two 10-0 first-half runs to build a big lead. Morse started the game with a 3-pointer, and the shootout between the two prolific offenses was on. The teams fired up a combined 33 3-pointers in the first half, and while the 44 percent the visitors shot from long range was nothing to be disappointed of, the Skyhawks’ 53 percent from distance and 55 percent from the field carried the home team to a 56-38 halftime lead.
The ThunderWolves (14-11, 10-9 RMAC) made a push in the second half, as a 10-2 run got them to within 11.
In a rare occurence this season, things looked bleak for the Skyhawks when senior leader Cade Kloster went down clutching his knee late in the game after going to the floor hard on a fast break.
To everyone’s surprise, Kloster didn’t just come back to the bench, he got back in the game.
“I was just hoping that it wasn’t a serious injury,” Blaylock said. “It definitely zapped the energy out of the building, but it was great to see him come back.”
With their leader back on the floor, the Skyhawks pulled away. Blaylock and Morse continued the offensive clinic with sharp shooting from the outside and secure ball-handling while managing the clock beautifully. The ThunderWolves were never able to trim the deficit to single-digits.
When it was all said and done, the two teams heaved 61 attempts from 3-point range and Fort Lewis was able to extend its best start in school history to 21-3.
“We talked all week about finishing strong in these last three weekends,” said Fort Lewis head coach Bob Pietrack. “We’ve got one of them down with two wins, and we’re just excited to keep this thing going.”
jfries@durangoherald.com
