DURANGO, CO - January 26, 2008 - The Fort Lewis College men's basketball team shot 54.8% from the field and defeated the Western New Mexico University Mustangs 93-59 Saturday night in Whalen Gymnasium. The Skyhawks improve to 15-3 overall and 10-1 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC), while the Mustangs fall to 9-10 overall and 5-6 in conference play.
The Skyhawks completed the sweep of both New Mexico RMAC schools with a big win over the Mustangs. The Mustangs tried to stay in the game early, but the fast pace play of the Skyhawks eventually caught up to the visiting Mustangs as they crumbled in the second half.
The Skyhawks opened a quick lead in the game scoring 17 of the first 24 points in the first 10 minutes, but the Mustangs would mount a comeback. They went on a 10-1 run between the 9:27 mark and the 6:29 mark of the first period to cut the Skyhawks lead to just one. Fort Lewis opened another comfortable lead and nailed a three-pointer as the buzzer sounded to take an 11-point lead into halftime.
The Skyhawks caused 10 first-half turnovers by the Mustangs and held their turnovers to just four. Devon Manning (Kirtland, NM/Kirtland) led the way in the first half with 10 points.
The Skyhawks did not mess around in the second half and put the game out of reach with 14:37 left when they went up by 21 (55-34). Fort Lewis continued to run up and down the court as the Mustangs seemed to tire in the final 10 minutes. They quickly found themselves up by 31 with 8:21 remaining. With their reserves in the final minutes, the Skyhawks cruised to their 11th consecutive victory.
Manning finished with 17 points, six rebounds and four assists, while DeAndre Lansdowne (Albuquerque, NM/Sandia) scored 14 points. Trent Bowman (Durango, CO/Durango) score 13 points in his second double digit game in as many nights, while Ryan Johnson (Aurora, CO/Eaglecrest) and Ryan Jameson (Durango, CO/Durango) scored 11 and 10 points respectively.
Tim Crowell (Long Beach, CA/Cincinnati) handed out a game-high 10 assists and scored eight points. Matt Morris (Durango, CO/Durango) played big under the basket with six points, four rebounds and two blocks in 19 minutes.
Fort Lewis returns to action in a rescheduled game on Friday, February 1st at 2:00 p.m. against CSU-Pueblo. The game will be played in the State Fair Events Center because the CSU-Pueblo gymnasium in currently under construction. The game can be heard live on KIUP 930 AM or online at www.radiodurango.com.
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