Saturday’s matchup between the two top Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference teams had the makings of a heavyweight title bout.
The two RMAC juggernauts exchanged haymakers from the opening tip, and it was clear that the outcome would be determined by a series of possessions in the final minutes. It was the Skyhawks that converted down the stretch, as No. 21 Fort Lewis leapfrogged New Mexico Highlands for first place with a 83-79 win.
Will Morse made six of Fort Lewis’ 16 3-pointers and led the way with 22 points. The Skyhawks shot a blazing 57 percent from long range on the night and it was a Morse 3 from the corner that sealed the win late for Fort Lewis.
Joshua Blaylock had 19 points, Rasmus Bach finished with 15 and Jared Smith was 4-for-5 from long range with 12 points.
“This was a great Division II basketball game, and I was just happy to be a part of it,” said Fort Lewis head coach Bob Pietrack. “There’s a reason why New Mexico Highlands is up at the top of our conference. Our team was ready for prime time, their team was ready for prime time and you got a heck of a ballgame.”
It took a bit of time for the two heavyweights to feel each other out, and it took three minutes for either team to put a shot through the hoop.
With three players topping out at 6-foot-10 and two at 6-foot-9, Fort Lewis was up against a major disadvantage in height.
The Cowboys, however, chose to attack the Fort Lewis defense from the perimeter and the shooting contest was on.
Morse’s three first half 3-pointers were matched by long ones from Cowboys’ guard James Healy. Both sharpshooters had 11 points to lead their teams at halftime, and Fort Lewis clung to a 36-34 lead.
Trying to match Fort Lewis from the perimeter may have worked out well in the first half for New Mexico Highlands, but the Skyhawks opened the second half with three consecutive makes and four of their first five attempts from long range to build a double-digit lead.
In an attempt to turn the momentum around, the Cowboys started feeding the interior guys, and it paid off.
New Mexico Highlands made up ground in a hurry behind Marlon Johnson, Kaylen Shane and Ron Lawton’s work in the paint and came all the way back to tie the game.
When the post players started producing, the perimeter opened up for Cowboys’ leading scorer Jonathon Mines. The senior dropped 24 of his game-high 30 points in the second half and kept his team in the game.
“Jonathon had a great game, but I think our offense wasn’t aggressive enough as a whole,” said Cowboys’ head coach Craig Snow. “We had a chance to win and in this conference that’s all you can ask for. They made plays and we didn’t.”
The two teams spent the final 10 minutes exchanging blows. The lead changed on nearly every possession the rest of the way.
With five minutes left to play, Fort Lewis built a six-point lead that was quickly erased by the Cowboys.
The Skyhawks never trailed by more than a point down the stretch and held the lead for most of the game although there were 13 lead changes on the night.
Up by one with a minute left to play, Blaylock found Morse in the corner for the dagger that buried the Cowboys. Bach converted on a late free throw to make it a two-possession game, and the packed Whalen Gymnasium erupted as the buzzer sounded.
“If you can’t get up for a game like this, you don’t belong out there,” Morse said. “That’s a good play we like to run, and when Josh drew the defense I knew he’d find me.”
The Skyhawks will be back at Whalen Gymnasium for 7:30 p.m. tips Friday and Saturday against Regis and Chadron State.
jfries@durangoherald.com
