Box Score

GUNNISON, Colo. — Even without its all-time leading scorer for most of the night, Fort Lewis (19-6 overall, 15-6 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) took care of business by defeating Western State (7-19, 6-15) 74-63 last night in Paul Wright Gymnasium, keeping their hopes for a RMAC home playoff game alive.

Senior guard DeAndre Lansdowne sprained an ankle in the second minute of play and never returned. FLC's career scoring leader, Lansdowne was on crutches following the game and his status for tonight's regular season finale at Mesa State (7 p.m.) is in doubt.

“I was proud of our guys who hadn't contributed yet this year,” said 15th-year Skyhawk head coach Bob Hofman. “It was a hard-nosed win. It was a gut check for them.”

David Kanyinda came off the bench to fill Lansdowne's shoes offensively, leading FLC with 19 points and making three treys. Matt Billups added 13 points (two treys), while Kyle Behrens chipped in 12. Daniel Steffensen's three long-distance bombs gave him nine points.

All 13 Skyhawks who dressed for the game saw action.

Weylan Towns led the Mountaineers with 20 points. Alex Hart (18 points), Troy McCoy (10) and Andrew Zehnder (10) also scored in double figures.

Fort Lewis led 32-27 at the half.

The Skyhawks will have to grind it out again tonight against an angry Mesa State (17-8, 13-8), which lost 68-65 in overtime to Adams State (19-6, 15-6) last night in Grand Junction. With the loss, the Mavs fell out of contention for a home playoff berth in next week's RMAC Shootout.

The race for the third and fourth seeds now boils down to a three-team deadlock between Fort Lewis, Adams State and New Mexico Highlands (19-6, 15-6). The Grizzlies travel to Western State for an 8 p.m. showdown tonight, while Highlands visits Western New Mexico (13-15, 13-8) at 8 p.m.

“It should be a fun game,” Hofman said of his team's battle against the Mavs.