With the season winding down, the top two teams in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference men’s basketball standings will square off Monday in Durango.
The No. 10 ranked Fort Lewis College men will host No. 3 Black Hills State at 7 p.m. Monday in the first game ever to be played in Whalen Gymnasium between a pair of teams ranked in the top 10 nationally.
The Skyhawks, fresh off a 82-77 win over the Western Colorado Mountaineers on Friday in Gunnison, enter the contest 21-2 overall and 15-1 in the RMAC.
Black Hills State also won on Friday, getting a triple double from Adam Moussa to beat the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs 100-69 and improve to 21-1, 15-1. The Yellow Jackets were also scheduled to play Regis University on Saturday before coming to Durango, giving them three games on four days.
The two teams were originally scheduled to play Dec. 31, but the contest was rescheduled because of weather and transportation issues.
Akuel Kot scored 38 points to lead FLC over Western on Friday and gain sole possession of second place in the conference.
Joel Scott, a 2021-22 All-American, has continued to dominate on the hardwood this winter and leads BHSU with 22.2 points per game, 9.4 rebounds per game and 23 blocks. The senior is aided by Matthew Ragsdale, PJ Hayes and Moussa, who provide 14.0, 11.6, and 10.7 points per game respectively.
The Yellow Jackets were one of just four programs in the country with one loss or fewer heading into the weekend. The only blemish on Black Hills State’s record was to Colorado Mesa, 80-69, in Spearfish, South Dakota.
FLC and Black Hill State will play twice next week. After Monday’s contest, FLC will hit the road to play the Yellow Jackets in South Dakota on Friday.
The FLC women started the action on Friday and came away with their second victory over the Mountaineers this season, 69-53.
FLC is now 9-14, 6-11 while WCU slid to 6-16, 5-12. Kelsey Sorenson racked up 21 points to lead the Skyhawks, while Lanae Billy added 14 points and Kaitlyn Bell and finished the night with 13 points.
Black Hills improved to 17-5, 12-4 after beating UCCS 59-56 on Friday. The FLC women will play the Yellow Jackets before the men on Monday, tipping off at 5 p.m.
