After 25 minutes of play at Whalen Gymnasium in Friday night’s Fort Lewis College men’s basketball conference opener against CSU-Pueblo, it was looking like it wasn’t the Skyhawks’ night.
With a school-record 22nd consecutive home win in sight, Fort Lewis struggled mightily in the opening half and trailed by 18 points with 15 minutes remaining. However, Joshua Blaylock and Rasmus Bach came alive down the stretch to bring FLC all the way back and lead the Skyhawks (6-1, 1-0 RMAC) to a remarkable 105-97 overtime win.
Blaylock led the way with 34 points after scoring eight in the first 20 minutes. Bach added 28 in the record-setting win including a layup in the final seconds of regulation that sent the game to overtime.
“That was a crazy college basketball game with two really good teams,” Fort Lewis head coach Bob Pietrack said. “CSU-Pueblo is everything we thought they were, and we really struggled with them for awhile. But the Whalen has ghosts, and they showed tonight.”
From the opening tip, it was clear that CSU-Pueblo had the intentions of spoiling the record celebration. The ThunderWolves shot 64 percent from the floor in the first half and built a 14-point, 45-31, halftime lead.
If not for the effort off the bench from Fort Lewis forward Jalen Terry, the hole would have been even deeper. Terry led all scorers with nine first-half points in 6 minutes on the court. He finished with 11 points.
CSU-Pueblo (2-6, 0-1 RMAC) extended its lead to start the second half with more precision perimeter shooting. Back-to-back makes from behind the 3-point line gave the visitors an 18-point advantage, but the Skyhawks refused to go quietly.
Fort Lewis ran off a huge run behind inspired play by an impressive stretch of play from Bach. The junior almost single-handedly brought FLC back in the game.
“(Rasmus) is such a special player,” Blaylock said. “He’s one of the best players I’ve ever played with.”
With Bach scoring from all over the place, the opponents made more of an effort to slow him, and that’s when Blaylock took over.
The senior guard made a number of tough shots, and both players were clutch at the foul line. After exchanging buckets down the stretch, FLC had a final possession, down two points with 10 seconds left, and Bach’s layup sent the game to overtime.
In the extra frame, it was all Blaylock and the Skyhawks. The FLC star scored eight of the team’s 16 overtime points, and the celebration was on as a packed Skyhawks student section stormed the court.
The Skyhawks will look to extend the record to 23 games at 7:30 p.m. Saturday against New Mexico Highlands.
jfries@durangoherald.com
