The Fort Lewis College men’s basketball team feels snakebit.
Another Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference team shot 3-pointers at a blistering pace against the Skyhawks, and it added up to another tough loss for FLC (13-8, 7-8 RMAC). This time, it was Westminster College in a crucial game for FLC’s conference tournament hopes. The visiting Griffins made 15-of-22 from 3 to secure a 91-85 win Saturday night in Whalen Gymnasium in Durango.
Westminster (14-7, 9-6 RMAC) started 7-of-7 from long range and didn’t cool down. Jake Connor and Jai Jai Ely combined to go 12-of-14 from behind the 3-point line. Ely didn’t miss, as he finished with 18 points to go with five assists. Connor scored 23 points and had five rebounds. Brandon Warr added 20 points and 12 rebounds. He was 8-of-13 shooting and made three from 3, too.
“I don’t think we’re as bad defensively as the shots that go in,” Pietrack said. “A team comes in and goes 15-of-22 from 3, and they missed their last two. I thought we were really scrapping and staying in it, but when a team makes that many shots, it’s deflating.”
FLC trailed by as much as 15 in the second half after a 48-40 halftime deficit. Behind a team-high 23 points from Danny Garrick, who made 7-of-11 shots from 3, FLC would get as close as 84-80, but it wasn’t enough to get any closer in the final minute.
Riley Farris finished with 19 points on 8-of-16 shooting for FLC. But he missed all three of his free throws, and FLC was an ugly 11-of-20 from the foul line as a team.
“I thought they were really physical with him, both teams this weekend,” Pietrack said of the opponents’ defense on Farris. “We don’t get a lot of calls in there for him. I thought he played really well and passed the ball well.
“If we had just made our free throws, we would have been in a much better position, but when you miss nine free throws and give up 15-of-22 from 3, it’s very difficult.”
Akuel Kot had 14 points for FLC, and Logan Hokanson added 12. The Skyhawks had a shorter bench with freshman guard Junior Garbrah limited all weekend by an illness.
FLC will likely need to win five of its final seven games to make the conference tournament. It won’t be an easy task with five games on the road and a schedule loaded with quality opponents.
The Skyhawks are one of three teams one game back of the eighth seed.
“This season is a marathon, and this one hurts,” Pietrack said. “We go back on the road for four and we gotta find a way to put good games together and not let teams make everything against us.
“We’ve got five of seven on the road, but I’m not even sure that’s a bad thing for us to get out of town for a bit. I’m just disappointed because I thought we had a good crowd tonight and they helped us. We just couldn’t get enough stops defensively to make a difference. We’re a young team going through some growing pains. There’s some positives, but when you’re giving up as many 3-pointers as we’re giving up consistently, it’s really hard.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
