The Fort Lewis College men’s basketball team played its first exhibition game of the season Saturday night and started the campaign off on a high note.
Rasmus Bach led the Skyhawks with 25 points, and Riley Ferris had a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds, as FLC beat Northern New Mexico 88-75 in an exhibition tune-tup.
“In an exhibition like this, we just wanted to see the guys get tested in someone else’s building and see how they react,” Fort Lewis head coach Bob Pietrack said in a phone interview with The Durango Herald. “The guys battled and showed some resolve competing hard down the stretch, so we got what we needed to out of this game.”
Fort Lewis, ranked in the National Association of Basketball Coaches preseason top 25 poll for the first time in program history at No. 15, returns three regulars from last year’s record-setting team. The defending RMAC champions will have the league’s Preseason Player of the Year Joshua Blaylock running the show with key components Bach, Will Morse and a slew of new talent beside him.
Bach, who is back from an offseason knee operation, proved that he’s ready to go with his 9-for-12 performance from the field Saturday.
“Rasmus is such a special player and he’s just getting into his prime,” Pietrack said. “He looked great out there.”
Junior transfer Brandon Wilson had 15 points and nine rebounds in his first action with the Skyhawks. Blaylock and junior transfer Daniel Hernandez poured in 10 points in the win.
FLC will spend the week preparing for a tough battle Friday in Canyon, Texas against West Texas A&M.
“We’ve got a lot of new faces, so it might take some time to get close to the level this team was at last season,” Pietrack said. “We’ve got a lot of stuff to clean up.”
jfries@durangoherald.com
