The first time Fort Lewis and Adams State matched up this season, way back on Dec. 13, Joshua Blaylock and Rasmus Bach feasted on the Grizzlies defense for a combined 52 points in a 95-91 win. Two months later, it was the same story Tuesday at Whalen Gymnasium.
It didn’t take 52 points this time, but the Bach and Blaylock combination was too much for Adams State once again. The FLC (23-4, 18-3 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) defense held up better than last time, as the Skyhawks cruised to a 80-65 win.
Blaylock led the way with 20 points in his last regular-season game at Whalen Gymnasium. Bach finished with 17 points, and Brandon Wilson finished with a double-double of 10 points and 12 rebounds. Daniel Hernandez pitched in nine points and grabbed seven rebounds in a starting role for Will Morse, who sat out with an illness. The timetable for Morse’s return is not clear.
“I was really proud with the way we defended in this one,” Fort Lewis head coach Bob Pietrack said. “We had them stuck in the 50s until they made some late 3s, so I think that was really the difference.”
Though the Grizzlies (12-15, 9-12 RMAC) were held to 32-percent shooting in the first 20 minutes, they stayed right there with the Skyhawks for most of the first half. However, Blaylock’s 3-pointer as time was winding down in the half gave FLC a 37-29 lead heading to the locker room.
Unfortunately for the Grizzlies, the percentage never improved.
Fort Lewis started the second half quickly as the lead grew to double digits after a 3-pointer by Blaylock and back-to-back buckets by Bach. That wasn’t good enough for the Skyhawks, as they kept the heat on with a 17-5 run that pushed the lead to 25. FLC never let up on the defensive end and held the opponents to a measley 33-percent for the game.
“We started off a little slow, and I think that was just because we were trying to get used to playing without Will (Morse),” Blaylock said. “We started that second half strong, and we just get better and better as the game goes on just like we have all season.”
Fort Lewis will head to Salt Lake City to face Westminster in a very meaningful and difficult matchup with the Griffins on Friday night. If the Skyhawks prevail, the worst they can do is share the league title with Colorado Mines. The Orediggers have a tough weekend ahead of them hosting UC-Colorado Springs and Metro State. If they lose either of those games and FLC wins Friday, the Skyhawks will win the title outright and host the RMAC Shootout for a second consecutive year. Mines has the tiebreaker with the Skyhawks after the overtime win in Durango last Friday.
“It’ll be a really tough game Friday,” Pietrack said. “They’re one of the top four teams in our conference and they have been all year long. They have one of the top coaches in the league as well, so it’ll be the ultimate challenge for us. We’re excited, though, that we get to play these meaningful games this time of year and hopefully well into March.”
The latest set of South Central Region rankings will be released Wednesday. FLC is projected to be sixth and Mines first. The final regional rankings will be released following the conference tournaments. The top eight teams in the region reach the NCAA tournament, and the top seed will host the regional bracket.
jfries@durangoherald.com
