Saturday’s contest between the Fort Lewis Skyhawks and the Regis Rangers came down to the final possession.
After Regis’ Eddy Egun hit a 3-pointer to put the Rangers up 80-79 with 32 seconds left, Skyhawks senior guard Malik Whitaker rebounded senior guard Junior Garbrah’s miss and was fouled with six seconds left. Whitaker hit both, Egun missed a 3-pointer to win on the other end, and Fort Lewis hung on to win 81-80 at the Regis Field House in Denver.
The Fort Lewis men (13-2, 8-1 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play) shot 41% from the field, 47% from 3-point range and 50% from the free-throw line. Regis (8-7, 5-4 in the RMAC) shot 50% from the field and 49% from 3-point range.
“We stayed together,” Skyhawks coach Bob Pietrack said. “We were very tough and kept fighting and kept fighting. So we withstood great play from Regis who’s very good. This is one of our better wins of the year. We were able to stick with it and we had a really special performance from Malik Whitaker. So that was the difference. These road league games are very difficult. So this is this is a great win for our program.”
Whitaker led Fort Lewis with a season-high 24 points on 8 of 14 shooting from the field and 3 of 5 shooting from 3-point range along with a season-high 10 rebounds, six of which were offensive boards. Senior guard Junior Garbrah had 13 points on 4 of 11 shooting and 1 of 3 shooting from beyond the arc.
Regis had five players in double-figures and was led by Egun, who finished with 15 points on 6 of 9 shooting from the field and 3 of 5 shooting from downtown. Ty Cox and Chase Mayo Harmon each had 14 points.
Pietrack changed the starting lineup by inserting redshirt sophomore Amondo Miller Jr. in place of junior forward Isiah Thompson. Pietrack said he wanted a smaller and more agile lineup against Regis’ dribble-drive offense.
The Skyhawks were down eight or nine points numerous times in the first half, but cut the deficit to 43-42 at halftime. Fort Lewis took the lead to start the second half with a Whitaker jumper.
“We just stuck with it,” Pietrack said. “They were making so many bombs tonight. They shot unbelievably and we just withstood them, like a fighter in the ring. They were just throwing haymakers we stayed in there kept being tough and at the end of it we were the last team standing.”
In the last 15 minutes of the game, neither team led by more than three points. Regis kept making its outside shots while the Skyhawks got to the free-throw line, made some 3-pointers and crashed the offensive rebounds.
The Fort Lewis women’s basketball team was not as fortunate playing at Regis. Down numerous rotation players, the Skyhawks had a one-point lead when the fourth quarter began. But they were unable to maintain that edge and lost 72-66.
The Skyhawks (8-7, 5-4 in the RMAC) shot 42% from the field and 18% from 3-point range in the loss.
Regis (12-3 overall, 7-2 in the RMAC) shot 42% from the field and 26% from 3-point range.
In the women’s game, sophomore guard Lanae Billy led Fort Lewis with 21 points on 5 of 15 shooting from the field, 2 of 11 shooting from 3-point range and 9 of 10 shooting from the free-throw line. Sophomore forward Kate Gallery had 16 points on 7 of 12 shooting and 2 of 6 shooting from downtown.
Junior guard Sadie Misner was out with a concussion and junior Luisa Chavez missed the game with an ankle injury.
“I was really proud of our girls and how we fought,” Fort Lewis associate head coach Kylie Lorenzen said. “Our first time was amazing. We really did what we were planning to do and that was focusing on defense, having fun, bringing the energy and frustrating them offensively. It was really exciting, we got Regis really frustrated. In the second half, we have some girls out so we have a short bench and the altitude happened. Regis is a great team and they were able to capitalize on our little slip-ups.”
Morgan L. Smith led Regis with 17 points on 7 of 10 shooting and 10 rebounds, while Josey Ryan had 15 points.
The first quarter was a high-scoring affair, with the Skyhawks leading 20-17 entering the second. But Fort Lewis struggled from outside the remainder of the game and shot 2 of 15 from 3-point range in the final three quarters.
“In the first half, we were going to the basket, drawing more fouls and Kate Gallery was really great with her 3-pointers in the first half,” Lorenzen said. “Then in the second half, we were a little rushed on our shots a bit. We play really well when we do those extra passes and we come together as a team and their defense was all over Lanae and kept their hands high. We just didn't have the best shots.”
Fort Lewis will return home for a doubleheader next Friday against Chadron State.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
