Box score
CHADRON, Neb. — Eighteen days wasn't enough to cool off the red hot Fort Lewis men's basketball team. The Skyhawks (8-1 overall, 5-1 in the
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) routed Chadron State (1-10, 1-5) 85-61 tonight in Armstrong Gymnasium in their first game since Dec. 17.
And the Skyhawks aren't just red hot in the win column. Fort Lewis shot 55.4 percent from the field (31-of-56), 46.2 percent from behind the arc (12-of-26) and 73.3 percent from the line (11-of-15).
“We made threes and we made a lot of them,” said Associate Head Coach
Bob Pietrack. “We moved the ball well on offense and got into a good rhythm, which helped us overcome Chief (sophomore center
Alex Herrera) getting into foul trouble.”
Nick Tomsick led the way with 18 points and made four-of-five long-range bombs, including a couple early in the game.
Marcus Ayala, last week's RMAC/Baden Offensive Player of the Week, came off the bench to add 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field.
Jared Smith scored a career-high 10 points, including a trey at the end of the first half that made the score 46-32 in FLC's favor. And Herrera added 10 points despite limited action due to foul trouble.
Pietrack was complimentary of point guard
Matt Mazarei, who leads the entire NCAA Division II in assist-to-turnover ratio. The senior came into tonight's game with 36 assists to just six turnovers. He improved upon that with six assists and no miscues against the Eagles.
Chadron State was led by Zac Bargen, who notched a double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds and went 11-of-16 from the charity stripe. Grant Stone came off the bench to score 13 points, while Kendrick Holliman added 10 points.
The Eagles won the rebounding battle 40-30, but struggled against FLC's defense. CSC committed 16 turnovers and shot just 36.5 percent from the field (19-of-52), 37.5 percent from three-point range (6-of-16) and 51.5 percent from the line (17-of-33).
Fort Lewis wraps up its two-game trek into the Great Plains at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow night when it travels to Black Hills State (3-8, 2-5) for the first-ever meeting between the two schools. The Yellow Jackets lost to Adams State 80-66 tonight.
“Any win on the road is a great team win and we're happy with it,” said Pietrack. “We've got another one to go.”
