When a player has a record-breaking night, it’s expected their team would win, and that’s what happened with Fort Lewis College men’s basketball’s 73-56 home win over Colorado Christian University on Thursday night.
Skyhawks senior forward Cassius Carmichael had a program record 11 steals to lead FLC’s defense on a night where the Skyhawks’ shooting wasn’t their best. It seemed like Carmichael had Harry Potter’s invisibility cloak on with how he was swiping the ball away from Colorado Christian players.
“There's no way you could be successful defensively alone,” Carmichael said. “It takes the whole team to speed them up, get hands on the balls, and help us tip those loose balls to my direction, where I can get those steals.”
Carmichael’s 11 steals tie a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference record and are the most by a Division I or Division II men’s basketball player this season.
The senior forward wasn’t the only Skyhawk playing excellent defense. FLC’s pressing defense forced Colorado Christian into 28 turnovers, and the Cougars never got into an offensive rhythm from anywhere on the court. The Skyhawks had a season-high 24 steals.
FLC’s offense wasn’t pretty, but redshirt sophomore guard Jaxon Smith made enough shots as the Skyhawks took control of the game early and never looked back.
“They want to play a slower style … so the message was, we're just going to impose our will more,” FLC head coach Jordan Mast said. “We answered that with our pressure and how many turnovers we forced. It's two different styles, and we came out on top of our style today.”
FLC improved to 11-5 overall and 9-0 in the RMAC after it shot 40% from the field, 30% from 3-point range and 65% from the free-throw line. Smith led the Skyhawks with 18 points on 5-10 shooting from the field, 4-9 from 3-point range and 4-4 from the free-throw line. Redshirt sophomore guard Stewart Erhart added 12 points, five assists and five steals for FLC.
Colorado Christian dropped to 7-10 overall and 2-7 in the RMAC after it shot 36% from the field, 29% from 3-point range and 67% from the free-throw line. Joshua Reid led the Cougars with 11 points.
FLC had a fantastic start, leading 14-3 with 14:50 left in the first half. The Skyhawks were causing turnovers with their press, moving the ball and finishing inside and outside the arc. Erhart had three early assists, and Carmichael had three early steals.
“Our focus, our attention to detail, we picked it up quickly,” Mast said. “We made it hard to get inbounds; everything we preach in there.”
Colorado Christian finished inside to cut the lead to single digits, but the struggles with turnovers reappeared, fueling FLC’s offense. Erhart finished inside after a slow shooting start, and Carmichael had a nice finish to put FLC up 22-10 with seven minutes left in the first half.
The Skyhawks were helped in the first half by Colorado Christian’s poor 3-point shooting. The Cougars got some good looks with good ball movement against FLC’s pressing defense, but missed.
Despite a few open 3-pointers missed by FLC, the Skyhawks’ defense was fantastic at the end of the first half, led by Carmichael. The senior forward was everywhere, putting his hands in the perfect positions in the passing lanes with his endless motor. Carmichael’s seven first-half steals led FLC to a 34-22 lead at the half.
“Cassius Carmichael is the ultimate winner,” Mast said. “It won’t always show up in the stat book; tonight it did. He does so many things that only the coaches and our staff know what that means … It’s great to see it show up in the stat book tonight with breaking a record. I couldn’t think of a more deserving human being than him.”
The Skyhawks had a good start to the second half, causing turnovers and finishing inside with some big-to-big passing. A Carmichael layup off a great pass from senior forward Massal Diouf gave FLC a 41-24 lead with 17:37 left.
Colorado Christian responded. Those 3-pointers they were missing in the first half, they were hitting in the second half. It also helped that the Cougars weren’t turning it over constantly.
The Cougars cut the lead to 11, but Smith responded with seven consecutive points to give FLC a 53-36 lead with 10:30 left. Smith is known as a 3-point shooter, but when he can put the ball on the floor and get to the free-throw line, he takes his game to another level.
“It’s no secret how good a shooter he is,” Mast said about Smith. “So he’s got to learn to counter; he could be a great screener, a good driver. He’s got to get better in all of those other facets of the game and he’s starting to do that … which is what makes him really good.”
FLC’s defense continued to keep its lead in the double-digits, while the Skyhawks had a major advantage in free throws. Diouf finished inside to put FLC up 66-48 with 2:19 left, and Mast emptied his bench.
The Skyhawks stay at home to play the University of Colorado Colorado Springs on Saturday at 3 p.m.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
