The number one seeded Fort Lewis College men’s basketball team is moving onto the semi-finals of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference tournament after they defeated the eighth-seeded Western State University Mountaineers on Tuesday night, 88-73.
The win came just four days after the Skyhawks clinched the regular season RMAC title last Saturday against Westminster College (Utah). The Skyhawks will be moving on to play the fourth-seeded Adams State University Grizzlies on Friday night at home in Whalen Gymnasium.
FLC is now 15-0 at home this season and 45-1 at home in the last three seasons combined.
“That’s why you play so hard in the regular season,” senior forward Rasmus Bach said, “so you can have a slight advantage at the end of the year. In my four years at Fort Lewis I think I have lost here maybe, not even five times. It’s a huge advantage being home in Whalen.”
FLC dominated the game against the Mountaineers for the entirety of the matchup. FLC led for the entire game and Western never cut the lead to less than six points for the last 35 minutes of the matchup.
FLC had beaten Western twice in their two earlier matchups this season, so, WSU was looking for their revenge. FLC won the first game at home in December in an overtime thriller 93-92 and then beat Western in Gunnison just three weeks ago, 85-78.
This game on Tuesday was different than the other two. FLC held the jumpshot-happy Western team to just 4-25 from beyond the arc in the game (16 percent) and also forced them to turn the ball over 17 times. FLC also held the Mountaineers to a season low 73 points.
“We knew that they couldn’t make enough two’s to beat us in Durango, so we just wanted to chase them off the three-point line and play in the gaps,” Bob Pietrack, FLC head coach, said. “Make them make two’s and we held them to 73 which is well below their average.”
While the Skyhawk defense was smothering, the offense was forceful. Namely, junior transfer forward Marquel Beasley scored an astounding 36 points on 14-17 shooting in the game and brought down the house with some slam-dunks that brought the crowd to their feet.
“I was just trying to bring some energy in the building,” Beasley said. “It’s a Tuesday game so, whatever it takes and that’s what it took. I had to take it out on the rim tonight. Before the game, coach said ‘they won’t be able to guard you’ and my teammates just trusted in me and kept giving me the ball and I kept coming through for them.”
This win sets up a rematch against Adams, who beat FLC one week ago in Alamosa by a score of 107-93, the most points allowed by Fort Lewis this season.
“We were just talking about that in the locker room,” Beasley said. “We are looking forward to getting back at them because they left a salty taste in our mouths. It’ll be a good one to watch.”
The Adams team will be ready to play and it is going to be a great game, Bach said.
“They came and they punched us in the mouth when we went to their place,” Bach said. “We want to get them back a little bit and they’re not going to back down. They are a good team and they have a lot of physical players. We have got to come out and play our game like we did tonight.”
All-RMAC Winners
On Tuesday, Bach was named to the first team All-RMAC. Senior guard Daniel Hernandez and Beasley were named to the second team, while junior guard DJ Miles and senior center Brandon Wilson were honorable mention.
FLC Women’s Basketball Season Ends
The women’s basketball team’s season ended Tuesday when they lost their first round RMAC tournament matchup to Black Hills State University in Spearfish, South Dakota 59-56. Jordan Carter led the Skyhawks in scoring with 14 points off the bench while freshman Vivian Gray scored 13 and senior guard Astrea Reed was held scoreless.