Written By: Dale Strode
January 31st, 2010. Durango, CO. - The Skyhawks knew they would come back.
The Cowboys knew the Skyhawks would come back. And they did.
But a frenetic second-half rally fell just short for the Fort Lewis College men's basketball team Saturday night at Whalen Gymnasium when New Mexico Highlands held on for a dramatic 95-93 victory.
Twice the torrid-shooting Cowboys led by 18 points - the last time with seven minutes remaining.
Fort Lewis scrambled back into the game with a barrage of quick offense from junior DeAndre Lansdowne, who scored eight points in a span of 50 seconds.
Sophomore Matt Morris followed with a putback basket and a pair of foul shots.
With the home crowd roaring, Lansdowne hit a tough left-handed leaner in the lane.
When Kyle Behrens hit an inside basket off a Morris assist, the Skyhawks were back within five points with two minutes to play.
The lead fell to two points at 93-91 after a strong driving layup by Fort Lewis junior Daniel Steffensen and a steal off Highlands' inbounds pass by Lansdowne, who dropped in a banker with 25.9 seconds to play.
Roman Andrade of N.M. Highlands, who triggered the Cowboys' first-half lead, hit two free throws with 23 seconds on the clock.
But FLC junior David Kanyinda raced the length of the court and rolled in an acrobatic layup over the front of the rim to the cut the lead to 95-93 with 16.9 seconds left.
A pair of missed foul shots by Kevlin Franklin of Highlands gave the Skyhawks one final opportunity to tie, but Lansdowne's 12-footer bounced away with two seconds left, and the Cowboys headed back to New Mexico with the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference win.
“That might have been the longest second half of my life," Highlands coach Joe Harge said.
“Fort Lewis is so well-coached. They didn't give up. We knew they wouldn't give up," he said.
“We got lucky in the first half when we shot the ball really well. We've got shooters, and we shoot well. But that's the best we've shot all year," Harge said after the Cowboys hit 10 of 15 shots from the 3-point line in the opening half (67 percent).
Andrade, a preseason All-RMAC selection, was 4 of 4 on 3-pointers in the opening half as he put up 18 points. The senior from Albuquerque finished with 33 points and five 3-pointers.
Chop Tang, with five more 3s, added 28 for Highlands, 6-5 in the RMAC and 12-7 overall.
Lansdowne led all scorers with 35 points, including a perfect 12-for-12 from the free throw line. He also had two 3-pointers.
Morris, on 8 of 11 shooting, scored 19 points and had 13 rebounds for Fort Lewis, 9-2 in conference and 15-4 overall.
Steffensen and Kanyinda added 11 points each.
“Andrade has made big plays for them all year," Fort Lewis coach Bob Hofman said.
“And I thought they played with a huge sense of urgency. We played with urgency the last seven minutes," Hofman said.
The FLC coach said the senior-laden team from Highlands made enough plays down the stretch to win.
“But DeAndre had a great look at the basket (at the end). I'll take that shot every time," Hofman said.
“Matt Morris really did a great job on the boards, as he usually does," the FLC coach said, adding that his youthful team learned from Saturday's loss.
“I thought Matt Morris was a difference-maker for them," Harge said. “He's physical and steady. And DeAndre, what did he have - 50 points? He had a great game."
Coming off a loss at Adams State on Friday, Harge said Saturday's game at Whalen Gym marked a “tremendous win for our program."
Fort Lewis, which beat CSU-Pueblo on Friday, will hit the RMAC road next weekend with games at Mesa State and Western State.
Box Score
dstrode@durangoherald.com
