Box Score
Watch FLC's postgame press conference
 
DURANGO, Colo. — One night after notching perhaps the biggest win in program history, No. 17 Fort Lewis (18-5 overall, 15-5 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) was stunned by unheralded Regis (8-15, 7-13) 80-77 in Whalen Gymnasium.
 
Last night, the Skyhawks upset No. 1 Metro State 61-54 to notch their first-ever win over a top-ranked team.
 
“Regis deserved to win,” said 17th-year FLC head coach Bob Hofman. “They played a great game, made big shots and made big free throws. They were extremely patient and scored a lot of points given the amount of time the used on the shot clock. It's a disappointing loss, but all the credit goes to Regis for playing a great game.”
 
In the opening moments, it appeared Fort Lewis would run away as expected. Alex Herrera scored an old-fashioned three-point play 10 seconds into the game and Marcus Ayala canned a three-pointer a minute later to stretch the lead to 6-0. The Skyhawks maintained a comfortable lead throughout most of the first half, leading by as many as nine points at 32-23 with just under six minutes left in the frame. A Matthias Weissl three made the score 38-30 with 3:15 left in the half.
 
But the Rangers outscored FLC 9-2 to close out the first half. Regis trailed 40-39 at intermission.
 
A Kevin Marshall layup 4:21 into the second half gave the Rangers a 46-44 lead and they'd never trail again. Fort Lewis trailed by as many as eight in the second half on numerous occasions.
 
With Regis leading 74-67 with 2:56 left, the Skyhawks went on a 7-0 run to tie the score in the final minute. Jared Smith knocked down a three-pointer with 2:44 left. Wes McKenzie came up with a steal to ignite a fastbreak the led to a Smith layup 18 seconds later to trim the lead to 74-72. After a Regis miss, McKenzie followed his errant three-pointer and drew a foul with 1:30 left. McKenzie knocked down two free throws to tie the score at 74-74.
 
After a Fort Lewis timeout, the Rangers patiently milked 34 out of the 35 seconds on the shot clock before Dylan King — a Skyhawk killer all night long — hit a desperation, falling-down three with 56 seconds remaining. Smith was whistled for his fourth foul on the play and King sank the free throw to extend the lead to 78-74.
 
Herrera nearly tied the game single-handedly in the final 42 seconds. First, McKenzie found him open on the baseline for a dunk. After an FLC timeout, Regis again patiently worked the shot clock. Herrera, a defensive specialist known for his shot-blocking rather than his perimeter defense, stripped the ball from Marshall near midcourt and streaked down the court on a near-breakaway with less than 10 seconds remaining. Jarrett Green caught him with a hard foul from behind as Herrera was going up for a game-tying dunk. He went 1-of-2 from the stripe, though, leaving FLC down 78-77.
 
Marshall made both free throws with seven seconds remaining to give the Rangers an 80-77 lead. With no timeouts remaining, Fort Lewis pushed the ball quickly up the right side of the court and Ayala had a good look from three-point range, appeared to draw contact, but saw his shot bounce off the back of the rim.
 
Herrera led the Skyhawks with 26 points on 11-of-16 shooting from the field and a 4-of-5 effort from the line. He added nine rebounds, two blocks and two steals.
 
Ayala finished with 15 points and four assists. The senior knocked down three treys during the game.
 
King and Marshall each scored 20 points for the Rangers and went a combined 10-of-10 from the charity stripe. King hit five three-pointers during the contest, none bigger than his four-point play in the final minute. Green added 17 points, while Demitrius Owens had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
 
Fort Lewis shot well — really well, in fact — from the field. The Skyhawks knocked down 52.6 percent of their field goal attempts (30-of-57) and 45 percent of their treys (9-of-20).
 
Regis was hot, too: 48 percent from the field (24-of-50) and 53.3 percent from behind the arc (8-of-15).
 
There were two big statistical differences, though. First, Regis outscored the Skyhawks by 16 from the free throw line. The Rangers converted 24 of their 30 free throw attempts. Fort Lewis made eight of their 12 freebies. The foul differential weighed heavily in Regis' favor, 22-12.
 
The second big difference was rebounding. Although Fort Lewis had the one-two big man punch of 6-foot-10 Herrera and 6-foot-9 Torrey Udall, it was outrebounded 31-25.
 
The Regis victory spoiled senior night, which marked the final regular season home appearance for seniors Ayala, Matt Mazarei, Udall and Weissl. The quartet and their family members were honored in a pregame ceremony.
 
Fortunately, they'll have the opportunity to go out as winners on their home court. FLC had already clinched a home playoff game on Tuesday, March 5 in the first round of the RMAC Shootout.
 
Fort Lewis remains in second place in the RMAC standings, a game ahead of Adams State (17-7, 14-6) and Colorado Mesa (17-7, 14-6) as both the Grizzlies and Mavericks also lost. But the Skyhawks left the door ajar for either team to catch them in the league standings. FLC could fall to as low as fourth place in the league standings pending next weekend's results.
 
The Skyhawks close the regular season out on the road next weekend with games at Western State Colorado (10-14, 9-11) at 7:30 p.m. next Friday and at Colorado Mesa at 7:30 p.m. next Saturday.
 
Fort Lewis beat both teams in Durango in December: 71-61 over the Mavericks on Dec. 16 and 73-70 over the Mountaineers on Dec. 17.