It might be called the RMAC Shootout, and while there are certainly some prolific offensive players coming to town, the league’s best defenses will be on display this weekend at Whalen Gymnasium.

The four teams still alive in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference tournament – Colorado Mesa, Colorado Mines, Fort Lewis and Metro State – are four of the RMAC’s top five in team defense, and it’s no coincidence.

In a conference with such depth offensively, the teams that played defense stood out among the pack and are the only ones left standing.

“The most important thing to do in this league is stop the other team from scoring,” Fort Lewis head coach Bob Pietrack said after Thursday’s practice. “Of course you have to put the ball in the basket, but all the teams can do that. To be elite, you have to get stops, and that’s what these four teams have in common.”

Here’s a closer look at Friday’s semifinal games:

Fort Lewis (25-3) vs. Metro State (19-10)

The Skyhawks’ loss to Colorado Mesa on Jan. 15 was the last time they came up on the losing end. Thirteen consecutive wins later, with the RMAC regular season title and the most wins in school history in its back pocket, Fort Lewis is the happy and well-deserving host. It is the first time in school history that the RMAC Shootout’s Final Four will be held at Fort Lewis College.

“It’s awesome for us to be able to host this thing in front of our fans who have been so great for us this year,” Fort Lewis senior Cade Kloster said in a phone interview with The Durango Herald. “It was something we had our sights set on, but now we have to perform. (Metro State) is a program I’ve played against now over 10 times, and they’re just tremendous. They’re so well-coached and they always get better as the year goes on, so we’re going to have to be sharp from the start.”

Kloster led all scorers with 23 points, as the Skyhawks won the season’s only meeting with a 77-63 win against the Roadrunners on Jan. 2 at Whalen Gymnasium.

“That was awhile ago, and we are a totally different team now, but I’m sure they are too,” Metro State head coach Derrick Clark said after practice Thursday. “They were in great form early this season, passing the ball beautifully and playing as a team at both ends of the floor. They were executing so much better than we were at that point of the season, but we’ve come a long way.”

Metro State has the league’s best defense with two formidable big men down low with Andre Harris and Bounama Keita protecting the paint. Harris led Metro State with 18 points and 13 rebounds in the first meeting and had his way with the Skyhawks until foul trouble limited his minutes in the second half.

The Roadrunners have won 10 of 12 heading into Friday’s semifinal after beating UC-Colorado Springs 82-77 on Tuesday to make it to Durango.

Roadrunners’ All-RMAC First Teamer Tony Dobbinson led the team with 23 points in the win, and Harris added 18. Dobbinson will make up half of a dynamic matchup at point guard Friday, as he’ll go at it again with FLC’s own All-RMAC First Team point guard, Joshua Blaylock.

Blaylock buried a long 3-pointer to shut the door on a furious CSU-Pueblo comeback Tuesday night, as FLC squeaked out a 89-86 win to advance. He leads Fort Lewis averaging 17 points per game and, more importantly, has drawn the toughest assignment on defense almost every night.

“(Blaylock and Dobbinson) are two of the most dynamic players in this league,” Clark said. “We have a lot of respect for Blaylock, and if I’m a fan and I’m paying to see this game, that’s the matchup I want to see because those are two guys who are going to go after it with everything they have until the final buzzer sounds.”

Colorado Mines (23-6) vs. Colorado Mesa (21-8)

It wouldn’t be right to talk about the importance of defense and fail to mention the RMAC Defensive Player of the Year, Colorado Mines Orediggers’ forward Gokul Natesan.

Natesan has been a handful for opponents this season and is playing his best ball at the right time. In addition to being named Defensive Player of the Year last week, he was named to the All-RMAC’s First Team and received an Offensive Player of the Week award after putting up 34 points in a double overtime win against Colorado Christian. The junior forward has scored in double figures in every game this season.

Aside from Fort Lewis, which has won 13 consecutive games heading into the weekend, Colorado Mines is the next hottest team in the final four with an 11-game winning streak.

“We’ve messed with our starting lineup and found a nice mix of guys who are playing well together,” Colorado Mines head coach Pryor Orser said. “The guys kept working hard, the coaching staff stayed positive and we hit our stride.”

The Orediggers advanced to the semifinals after a 78-69 win against Adams State. Adam Laine came off the bench and was a perfect 6-for-6 from the field to lead the Orediggers with 19 points, while Natesan had 18.

To extend the streak to 12 and make it to the RMAC Shootout championship game, the Orediggers will have to find a way to stop Colorado Mesa’s monster down low, the conference’s Player of the Year, Ryan Stephan.

The Mavericks’ big man dropped 36 points in the previous meeting with Mines. Natesan had 38 points that night for the Orediggers, but it was Colorado Mesa that won in overtime, 89-85, way back in December.

“Nobody’s going to stop (Stephan), and he’s probably the best offensive big man I’ve seen in my 15 years in the conference,” Orser said. “I was happy that we held him to 36 last time.”

Of the four teams left, Colorado Mesa was the only team to beat the three others in regular season play. The Mavericks carry a five-game winning streak into the semifinal and blew out a tough New Mexico Highlands team 95-77 in their opening round win.

Colorado Mesa and Colorado Mines will tip at 5 p.m. Friday and Fort Lewis and Metro State are scheduled to tip at 7:30 p.m. The winners will play in the championship game Saturday at 7 p.m.

jfries@durangoherald.com

If you go

WHO: Colorado Mesa vs. Colorado Mines; Fort Lewis vs. Metro State

WHAT: RMAC Shootout semifinals

WHEN: 5 p.m./7:30 p.m. Friday

WHERE: Whalen Gymnasium, Fort Lewis College

LISTEN LIVE: KIUP 930 AM, 97.3 FM

TWITTER: @The7thFreezer