The Fort Lewis College men’s basketball team likely ended its season with a 77-75 loss at Black Hills State on Friday night, but it was one made layup away from a serious déjà vu situation.
Black Hills State, the No. 1 seed in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference tournament, entered the matchup 11-1 at home, with the lone loss being a 78-76 defeat against FLC on Jan. 17. In that game, the Skyhawks were down 19 points in the second half and came back to win with a bucket at the buzzer by senior forward Keither Florence.
On Friday night, nearly the identical scenario happened again, as the nearly 3,000 fans in Spearfish, South Dakota, must’ve been feeling some déjà vu down the stretch.
After allowing nine 3-pointers in the first half, the No. 4-seeded Skyhawks were down 18 points early in the second half before fighting back on the back of redshirt sophomore guard Stewart Erhart. It was an unbelievable performance from the Alaska native, as he had his second consecutive 30-point game and had a career-high nine steals. Erhart was the team’s offense for most of the second half, slithering off ball screens into the lane for finishes or stepping behind screens for a 3-pointer.
His efforts and a few timely baskets from the supporting cast brought Black Hills State’s lead down to one point with 35 seconds left. But unlike last time, FLC couldn’t hit the bucket inside late to win the game, and the Yellow Jackets advanced to the conference tournament final.
“I know on the scoreboard, it says we lost,” FLC men’s basketball head coach Jordan Mast said. “But I felt like that was a win for our culture and how we want to do things; just never giving up, fighting to the end and playing as hard as you can. These guys were all about the right stuff for the whole game and ended up falling two points short.”
The Skyhawks’ effort was impressive, especially since they missed their third leading scorer, top rebounder and Second Team All-RMAC selection, Chuol Deng, after he didn’t travel with the team due to team reasons, for not buying into the team, Mast said.
FLC likely finishes the season 18-11 overall after it shot 37% from the field, 44% from 3-point range and 71% from the free-throw line. The Skyhawks were not in the top 10 of the latest regional ranking by the NCAA, and eight teams make each regional in the Division II NCAA tournament. A win over Black Hills State wouldn’t have secured an at-large bid for FLC, but it definitely would’ve made the selection committee’s life a lot harder.
Erhart finished with 31 points on 12-25 shooting from the field, 4-8 from 3-point range, 3-4 from the free-throw line, 10 rebounds and a season-high nine steals. He finished with 100 steals this season, the most in program history for a single season.
“I would say that’s one of the best performances a Skyhawk has ever had … he almost had a triple-double in a game of that caliber against a team that’s that good,” Mast said.
Black Hills State improved to 26-4 with the win after it shot 45% from the field, 41% from 3-point range and 73% from the free-throw line. The 2025-2026 RMAC Men’s Basketball Player of the Year, Cam Lowe, led the Yellow Jackets with 15 points on 5-10 shooting from the field, 3-7 from 3-point range and 2-2 from the free-throw line. The Yellow Jackets will play Colorado Mesa in the conference championship on Saturday.
Black Hills State went up 9-0 less than three minutes into the game after three 3-pointers off good ball movement against FLC’s pressing defense. FLC struggled to hit shots inside the arc in the first half.
The Yellow Jackets’ first six field goals were 3-pointers. Black Hills State made some tough 3-pointers, and FLC had a few sloppy turnovers trying to get the ball into Florence. The Skyhawks looked like they missed Deng’s versatility and offense early on.
“I don’t know if there was a glaring weakness; they just made their shots,” Mast said about his defense. “We were trapping, flying around and a few (3-pointers) were tough ones. We didn’t want them in the paint.”
Black Hills State led 37-28 at the half after leading by as many as 14 points. FLC continued to hunt shots in the paint and got to the free-throw line. However, the Yellow Jackets’ 9-20 mark from downtown compared to FLC’s 1-3 from distance was the difference. Mast was proud of how his team attacked the paint, but his team just couldn’t finish those looks.
The Yellow Jackets extended their lead to 53-35 with 13:40 left after a 3-pointer by former Skyhawk Tristan Hurdle. The Skyhawks looked so much smaller without Deng on the floor, especially against a team that has a lot of length in Black Hills State. Without Deng on the floor, Black Hills State could find mismatches a lot easier and contest smaller players’ shots more easily since FLC was playing with four guards a lot of the time.
Erhart’s hands really helped the Skyhawks stay in the game as he created offensive chances in transition in a game FLC had struggled in the half-court. Black Hills State also struggled with fouls, getting FLC into the bonus with more than half the second half left.
FLC’s offense turned into takeover time for Erhart. He got into the paint, hit from 3-point range and got to the free-throw line to cut the Yellow Jackets’ lead to 64-57 with 7:10 left.
The Skyhawks continued to create turnovers, clawing back the deficit. A steal by redshirt sophomore Jaxon Smith and an Erhart 3-pointer cut the deficit to 74-72 with 1:31 left. FLC junior Donald Bangham Jr. hit a 3-pointer off a screen to cut the lead to 76-75 with 34 seconds left. The Skyhawks forced another turnover, giving them the ball down one with 30 seconds left.
With five seconds left, Bangham Jr. ended up taking the ball into the paint, and he put up a wild bank shot that was off the mark and ended up in the hands of Black Hills State.
“We decided to use our last time out to get our defense set,” Mast said. “Hindsight is 20-20, but probably would’ve saved that, so we could have got a set we wanted. It was a broken play, and the ball went up in his hands with the shot clock winding down.”
The Skyhawks go into the offseason after winning three more conference games than the season before. FLC’s win total went down one, but Mast said his team’s aggressive non-conference scheduling, the toughest in the RMAC by far, according to Mast, was the reason for that.
FLC will need to replace nearly its entire frontcourt since Deng, Florence, Cassius Carmichael and Massal Diouf are seniors. However, the Skyhawks have the potential to have a loaded backcourt since Erhart, Smith and Trey Curry all have eligibility, along with guards returning from injury in Yorgio Golesis, Nathan Penney, Daniel Steverson and Jude Tapia.
But, any of those players could enter the transfer portal. Erhart could attract Division I looks with how strongly he finished the season.
“Sometimes you learn more from losing and facing adversity of what you need,” Mast said. “We have a better understanding, after two years, of what we really need for our system. We're going to go find it on the recruiting trail.”
bkelly@durangoherald.com
