Fort Lewis 75, Mesa State 64

Must win? Maybe not quite, but a huge win nonetheless for the Skyhawks men's basketball team over archrival Mesa State on Saturday night, 75-64, in Durango.

The pace was set early for the Skyhawks, who needed to respond after a disappointing loss to Western State on Friday night.

Just three minutes into the game, Ryan Jameson drilled a three point shot, followed by Trent Bowman making a three point shot of his own to give the Skyhawks confidence in their long range shots once again.

Ironically, the game ended up being very physical, as the two teams were very competitive in scoring from down low. Mesa State did end up with the advantage in points in the paint, scoring 32 from down low, compared to Fort Lewis' 30.

The physical nature of the game reflected the rivalry between the two basketball programs. “They're our biggest rival (Mesa State)” said Hofman, “We've developed a good respectful rivalry between the teams.”

Skyhawk center Kirk Arhibeque did end up the leading scored for the Fort, picking up 19 points, while grabbing five rebounds. Guard DeAndre Lansdowne also scored 17 points for the Skyhawks.

“I thought the both played very well (Archibeque and Lansdowne). They hung in there against the toughest defense in the RMAC.” said head coach Bob Hofman.

Like many basketball games, the statistical difference came in the form of turnovers, with the Skyhawks scoring 16 points off of turnovers, compared to the Marvericks, who scored 11 points off turnovers, in a game closer than the score shows.

In the game, Fort Lewis senior Ryan Jameson scored his 1000th career point for the Skyhawks. “Jameson is a great role model on and off the court. He's clutch, good shooter, rebounder, defender. We're very proud of him.” Said Hofman about Jameson's accomplishment.

With the win, Fort Lewis sits in a tie for second place in the RMAC West division, one game behind leader New Mexico Highlands, who the Skyhawks play on Saturday night at Whalen Gymnasium. On Friday night, however, the Skyhawks will face CSU Pueblo on campus, with an 8pm tip off.