Box score
DURANGO, Colo. — Fort Lewis opened its 2012-13 campaign by playing its entire 14-man roster in an 83-52 win over Northern New Mexico tonight in Whalen Gymnasium.
“I was happy with our newcomers,” said Skyhawk skipper
Bob Hofman, who began his 17th season (and 13th consecutive) at the helm of the FLC program. “I think all of them did a really good job. I'm really pleased with every new player. They instinctively ran our offense.”
Nick Tomsick, a junior from North Platte Community College, led the way with 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field. He also went 3-of-5 from behind the arc, as the Skyhawks shot a solid 36.7 percent from long distance (11 of 30).
“We shot the ball reasonably well tonight,” Hofman said of his team's 47 percent (31 of 66) shooting.
Two players who redshirted a year ago —
Jared Smith and
Cade Kloster — each scored nine points. Kloster went 3-of-4 from three-point land, while Smith mixed outside jumpers with drives. Another redshirt freshman,
Kody Salcido, had a pair of blocked shots and two rebounds.
Two transfers from Otero Junior College —
Wes McKenzie and
Lucas Archuleta — combined for 10 points (seven for Archuleta off the bench), while true freshmen
Shane Jensen (Arapahoe High School in Littleton, Colo.) and
Jacob Gondrezick (Judge Memorial Catholic High School in Salt Lake City) made their collegiate debuts. Jensen scored seven points and grabbed three caroms.
The newcomers weren't the only Skyhawks to excel. Junior guard
Mike Matthews scored 16 points in 17 minutes of action, including eight of FLC's first 10 points on a pair of bombs from three-point range and a fast break layup.
Sophomore center
Alex Herrera grabbed 10 rebounds (four offensive) and scored seven points. Senior point guard
Matt Mazarei was held off the scoresheet, but dished off nine assists and grabbed four boards. And senior center
Torrey Udall had a workmanlike night with seven points and six rebounds.
After sloppy first three minutes, the Skyhawks went on a 19-0 run to take a 19-1 lead and command of the game.
The Eagles (3-5 overall) took their only lead of the game when Eric Watson made the first of two free throws 2:41 into the game at 1-0 and didn't score again until Orlando Echave's layup with 9:57 left in the first half.
“Our defensive depth should be pretty good,” said Hofman, whose Skyhawks held Northern New Mexico to just 38 percent shooting (19 of 50), including a woeful 25 percent (6 of 24) in the first half. Fort Lewis led 36-14 at intermission.
The Skyhawks also forced 26 turnovers.
“All in all, I thought we got better today, but we've still got a long way to go,” said Hofman.
Gabe Martinez was the lone Eagle to score in double figures with 11 points. Matthew Brito added nine points.
Fort Lewis (1-0) doesn't play again until after Thanksgiving, when it travels to Grand Junction, Colo., for the Colorado Mesa Thanksgiving Classic on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 23-24. Fort Lewis plays Dixie State (2-0) at 3 p.m. on Nov. 23 and Northern New Mexico at 3 p.m. on Nov. 24. Both games will be played at CMU's Brownson Arena.
