The Fort Lewis College men’s basketball team had everything to play for at CSU Pueblo on Thursday, but the Skyhawks’ issues performing on the road were amplified in an 82-61 loss that wasn’t as close as the final score.
There was still a chance FLC could capture the conference title by winning its final two games of the regular season, but title thoughts quickly evaporated as the Skyhawks immediately struggled with CSU Pueblo’s top-ranked defense in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
FLC couldn’t consistently get good looks on offense. The Skyhawks didn’t cause enough turnovers to jump-start their offense, and the ThunderWolves easily moved the ball against FLC, resulting in an impressive 28 assists to only nine turnovers.
The game was creeping toward blowout territory at the half, and it reached that point by the middle of the second half as CSU Pueblo led by as many as 30 points in the second half. Losing on the road has been a common occurrence, with the Skyhawks dropping their last five road games.
“They outplayed us in every facet,” FLC men’s basketball head coach Jordan Mast said. “They were better defensively, they were better offensively … nothing we did really worked. We didn’t create easy shots for ourselves, and we kind of played tough individual basketball on the offensive floor.”
FLC dropped to 16-10 overall and 13-5 in the RMAC after it shot 43% from the field, 20% from 3-point range and 70% from the free-throw line. Redshirt sophomore guard Stewart Erhart led the Skyhawks with 15 points on 6-13 shooting from the field, 1-4 from 3-point range and 2-4 from the free-throw line. Redshirt sophomore guard Jaxon Smith added 14 points.
CSU Pueblo improved to 20-7 overall and 14-5 in the RMAC after it shot 57% from the field, 46% from 3-point range and 69% from the free-throw line. Jaden Kennis led the ThunderWolves with 19 points off the bench on 5-10 shooting from the field, 2-5 from 3-point range and 7-7 from the free-throw line.
It was a low-scoring game early on, the way CSU Pueblo wanted it. CSU Pueblo could only jack up 3-pointers, and FLC struggled to hit shots anywhere on the floor. It was 4-3 FLC after six minutes of play.
CSU Pueblo started having success inside, which opened up the outside for an open 3-point make by Kennis for a 12-5 lead with 11:23 left. FLC had a bunch of good looks before that, but couldn’t knock anything down from the outside.
The Skyhawks slowly started having some success, but couldn’t get stops on the other end. CSU Pueblo found a rhythm from outside, and a 3-pointer gave the ThunderWolves a 20-11 lead with 6:44 left in the first half.
CSU Pueblo’s lead only grew as the half drew to a close. FLC couldn’t get anything going with its set offense, relying on isolation basketball to get decent looks. The ThunderWolves are so sound on defense, moving as a unit with great size and strength. CSU Pueblo also started finding gaps in the Skyhawks defense, finding gaps for open 3-point looks. The ThunderWolves led 34-20 at the half.
“They make it tough to just get easy entries,” Mast said about CSU Pueblo. “A lot of our sets, we're supposed to start on the right side and we can't get it in. Now, we're having to improvise … They didn't make our normal flow easy. Number two is they pair their defense with their offense. They make you guard for the whole 30 seconds almost every time.”
FLC’s defense didn’t have any answers to start the second half. CSU Pueblo moved the ball in the half-court like the Skyhawks’ defense wasn’t even there, effortlessly finding open 3-point shooters in the corners. FLC tried to respond with its own 3-point looks, but couldn’t convert and CSU Pueblo was quickly up 45-24 with 17:21 left.
“We just don't do a good job, we haven’t all season, of creating for each other, and it's catching up to us … it just makes it really tough to win,” Mast said. “I'll give a little credit to injuries. We truly don't have a point guard playing right now, and that's kind of the job of the point guard. Stew and those guys are doing their best, but they're not natural ones that are getting guys in the sets and moving the ball, and so that's hurt us.”
The ThunderWolves’ finishing through contact was also excellent as they had multiple old-school 3-point plays. FLC’s full-court press wasn’t getting enough steals as CSU Pueblo led 57-32 with 12:30 left in the game.
Mast had a sense of desolation on the sideline as FLC trailed by 30 in the middle of the second half. Usually always on his feet, he looked despondent on the bench for most of the second half, with either his legs out or his hand on his chin as the game was decided with seven minutes left.
The second half followed a pattern for FLC. Against the other top three teams in the conference, the Skyhawks have trailed by at least 19 points in the second half in all of those games, with the lone win coming in a miraculous comeback against Black Hills State.
Erhart continued to fight on both ends with his play, but there were too many possessions that looked like a pickup game at the end for his effort to make a difference in the outcome.
FLC plays at Colorado Christian on Saturday at 3 p.m. The Skyhawks can wrap up third in the conference if they win and CSU Pueblo loses at home to Adams State.
Despite FLC dropping five of its last seven games, Mast knows his team has the ability to win important road games, with his examples being their win at Black Hills State and at Eastern New Mexico. His team will have to prove that point if they want to play in the NCAA tournament.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
