Box Score

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — Poor shooting nights will ruin even the best of efforts.

Poor shooting and a timely Colorado Mesa run doomed the Fort Lewis College men's basketball team in a 69-53 loss Friday at Brownson Arena.

FLC battled back from an early 12-point deficit in the second half to get as close as four points and was behind 49-44 when the Mavericks began their decisive run.

CMU embarked on a 13-3 run to take a 62-47 lead with just 3:58 to play before coasting to victory.
Fort Lewis (4-4 overall, 2-0 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) was done in by an uncharacteristically poor shooting performance. The Skyhawks made just 21 of their 66 field-goal attempts, good for just 32 percent, and they hit just two threes on 18 tries. FLC also made just nine of 21 free throws.

Colorado Mesa (6-3, 4-1) hit a modest 43 percent of its shots but made 19 of its 25 free throws.

“The bottom line is you've got to shoot better than we shot. ... When you go two of 18 from three, it's difficult to be successful,” FLC head coach Bob Hofman said.

Matt Morris led the way for Fort Lewis with 17 points and 12 rebounds, and Mike Matthews added 11 for FLC. Ignacio High School alumnus Alex Herrera had eight points for the Skyhawks.

Michael Bear led the Mavericks with 18 points, and Mike Melillo added 10. Jeff Hart had 12 rebounds for CMU.

Fort Lewis looks to get back on track when it travels to Gunnison tonight to face Western State at 8 p.m. The Mountaineers (3-6, 1-4) lost 77-59 to Adams State last night.

Fort Lewis College Assistant Director of Athletics for External Operations and Communications Chris Aaland contributed to this story.