It only takes a few minutes of explosive offensive play for the No. 14 Fort Lewis College men’s basketball team to pull away from the opponents – and that’s exactly what happened in Friday night’s contest at New Mexico Highlands.
Fort Lewis found itself caught in a back-and-forth first half in which both teams shot better than 50 percent and neither team could take command. It certainly wasn’t that way in the second half, as FLC came out of the locker room and laid a beating on the hosts en route to a 99-77 win.
Rasmus Bach, Joshua Blaylock and Daniel Hernandez all scored 19 points for FLC (19-3, 14-2 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference). Brandon Wilson, matched up against one of the league’s top big men in Marlon Johnson, had his best game of the season with double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds.
Johnson led all scorers with 24 points for the Cowboys (8-13, 6-10 RMAC).
“These teams are really well-coached, and they had a few different defensive looks that confused us in the first half,” Fort Lewis head coach Bob Pietrack said in a phone interview with The Durango Herald. “Once we got them out of that zone and figured out a better way to deal with their full-court press, we were in good shape.”
Both teams got off to hot starts in an evenly-played first half. Fort Lewis held the lead at the break, 48-44, but the Skyhawks shifted into overdrive in the second half.
Fort Lewis upped the offensive efficiency to start the second half and quickly built a double-digit advantage behind a 13-0 run. Unfortunately for the Cowboys, they couldn’t put out the flames as the FLC offense kept lighting up the scoreboard. The Skyhawks scored 33 points in the first 12 minutes of the second half to take a commanding lead. They refused to let up.
The win was the seventh in a row for Fort Lewis.
“I’m really happy with the well-balanced scoring attack we’ve had of late,” Pietrack said. “And, Brandon Wilson had his best day as a Skyhawk. He went up against a guy in Johnson who will be playing professionally for a long time, so it was good to see him step up.”
Fort Lewis will prepare for a 7:30 p.m. showdown Saturday with CSU-Pueblo. The ThunderWolves nearly upset the Skyhawks at home earlier this season, but the Skyhawks rallied to win 105-97 in overtime of the conference opener.
“We were lucky to win that game in Durango,” Pietrack said. “We’re going to have our hands full at their place, but that’s what makes it fun.”
jfries@durangoherald.com
