The No. 20 Fort Lewis College men’s basketball team is hoping to build of what was a very successful weekend at Whalen Gymnasium last weekend.
Coming off a four-game road trip, the Skyhawks (15-3, 10-3 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) cruised to a 83-67 victory against Western New Mexico and capped off the weekend with an emotional win Saturday against New Mexico Highlands in a matchup of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference’s top two teams. The two powerhouses exchanged runs for 40 minutes, and Fort Lewis came away with a 83-79 victory to climb into a 10-3 tie at the top of the conference standings. Fort Lewis’ overall record of 15-3 is best in the league by a wide margin and, with the Cowboys headed to Metro State and UC-Colorado Springs this weekend, the Skyhawks might have a chance to create a bit of separation between themselves and those trying to hunt them down in the standings.
They’ll have a good chance to do so this weekend as the Regis Rangers (5-8, 7-12 RMAC) and Chadron State Eagles (6-11, 4-9 RMAC) come to town. Both teams are currently at the bottom of the conference’s Rocky Division and have combined to lose four in a row. In the RMAC gauntlet, that means very little to the Skyhawks.
“It doesn’t matter who has done what in this league, if you aren’t ready to play on a nightly basis, you’re setting yourself up to get beat,” Fort Lewis head coach Bob Pietrack said in a phone interview with The Durango Herald. “We can’t look forward and we can’t look back. We control our own destiny so we’re laser focused and ready for another weekend of tough RMAC basketball.”
The Rangers haven’t won a game since they defeated Western New Mexico on Jan. 15. They struggled at home last weekend at home with a 105-80 loss to Colorado Mesa and followed with a 72-62 defeat at the hands of Westminster in Saturday’s game.
No matter who it is handling the ball for the Skyhawks, they’ll have to be cautions as Regis (7-12, 5-8 RMAC) leads the RMAC in steals. They sit in the middle of the pack in the RMAC giving up 75.1 points per game.
Offensively, the Skyhawks should be mindful of a couple Rangers underclassmen, Jarrett Brodbeck and Dexter Sienko, who play like veterans. The two combined for 37 of Regis’ 62 points in the loss to Westminster and they’ll be causing trouble for opponents for years to come. Brodbeck and FLC leading scorer Joshua Blaylock are tied for 13th in the RMAC with a scoring average of 15.4 points per game. Sienko is third in the conference shooting 58 percent from the field.
“Regis has some talented young players and a very good first-year coach,” Pietrack said. “What that means is that they’re getting better. They run good stuff and they have a lot of intelligent players.”
Chadron State mirrors Regis as a tough defensive team that struggles to score on the other end. However, Fort Lewis needs to be attentive on the defensive glass because the Eagles lead the conference in offensive rebounding and have a noticeable advantage on the boards in matching up with the Skyhawks.
The big advantage Fort Lewis will have is from the perimeter. The Skyhawks shoot 39 percent from long range and are second in the RMAC with 199 made 3-pointers while Chadron State is last in the RMAC allowing opponents to shoot 40 percent from 3-point range.
It doesn’t matter whether he starts or comes off the bench as Skyhawks’ guard Will Morse has been making opponents pay for leaving him open. Morse led Fort Lewis with six 3-pointers made and 22 points in Saturday’s win and has scored in double figures in the Skyhawks’ last three games. Blaylock and Morse are one and two in the conference in 3-point percentage shooting 51 percent and 47 percent.
Warren Gordon leads a well-balanced Chadron State offense with 12.3 points per game. Three Eagles, Gordon, Billy Johnson and Sharif Black average in double figures, but they’ll have to be extra good to navigate a Skyhawks defense that barely gives up 70 points per game.
“Chadron State is always a tough matchup because they can get to the basket and they always have adequate shooters,” Pietrack said. “They’re an athletic bunch and, if we’re not ready, they’ll make us pay.”
The Skyhawks will tip with Regis at 7:30 p.m. Friday and will face Chadron State at the same time Saturday with both games being held at Fort Lewis College’s Whalen Gymnasium.
jfries@durangoherald.com
If you go...
WHO: Regis/Chadron State at Fort Lewis College
WHAT: Division II men’s college basketball
WHEN: Friday, Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
WHERE: Fort Lewis College’s Whalen Gymnasium
TWITTER: @The7thFreezer
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