Box Score

GOLDEN, Colo. — In a game that lived up to all its hype, Fort Lewis (13-2 overall, 9-2 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) defeated Colorado Mines (12-3, 8-3) 86-83 Saturday night at Lockridge Arena.

The battle between two teams tied for second place in the RMAC standings was an ebb-and-flow affair that saw Fort Lewis routinely build large leads, only to see the Orediggers unleash a furious rally.

Fort Lewis jumped out of the gate to a 7-0 lead in the first 2:41 on a pair of layups and a three-pointer all from the hands of DeAndre Lansdowne. The Preseason RMAC Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year finished with 17 points on seven-of-12 shooting from the field. He also added five assists and four steals.

The Skyhawks twice stretched the lead to 16 points, the last of which came at the midway point of the first half. During the next seven minutes, though, the Orediggers went on a 17-2 run to take a 33-31 lead with 3:32 left in the first frame on a pair of Sean Armstrong free throws. FLC reclaimed the lead and took a 39-36 advantage into the locker room at intermission.

The second half saw much of the same — each team going on streaks, with the Skyhawks usually holding a fairly comfortable lead.

Hot shooting kept the game close. Fort Lewis finished .509 (27 of 53) from the field, .588 from behind the arc (10 of 17) and .759 from the charity stripe (22 of 29). Colorado Mines shot .456 (26 of 57) from the field, .500 from three-point land (11 of 22) and .769 (20 of 26) from the line.

FLC's David Kanyinda led all scorers with 21 points. Normally a long range gunner, the defense of Mines' Armstrong and Brett Green limited Kanyinda to just two treys and virtually no open looks from distance. Instead, Kanyinda used relied on dribble-drive penetration to knife through the lane for layups and drawing fouls. He went 11 of 12 from the foul line.

Daniel Steffensen was the beneficiary of the dribble-drive, cashing in all six of his three-point attempts to finish with 20 points. The senior forward had a double-double with 12 rebounds and added six assists.

Reserve center Torrey Udall added 11 points, while starting forward Kyle Behrens had 10.

All five Oredigger starters scored in double figures: Armstrong (16 points, seven assists), Green (13 points), Drew Hoffman (15 points), Dale Minschwaner (13 points, 10 rebounds, three blocked shots) and Gordon Galloway (13 points).

Minschwaner led the Orediggers to a 36-29 rebounding advantage.

Fort Lewis returns to Whalen Gymnasium for games at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday against Metro State (13-2, 10-1) and Regis (5-10, 2-9). Friday's tilt against the Roadrunners is a battle for first place in the RMAC standings, as the Skyhawks trail Metro by just one game.