Box score
 
SILVER CITY, N.M. — Western New Mexico (8-12 overall, 7-9 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) scored six points in the final minute and held No. 20 Fort Lewis (14-4, 11-4) scoreless down the stretch to steal a 66-64 win last night at Drag's Court.
 
“It's an extra tough loss,” said 17th-year FLC head coach Bob Hofman. “It was disappointing in that a lot of it was plays that we didn't make as opposed to the plays that Western made. It's tough.”

Trailing 64-60 with a minute remaining, the Mustangs trimmed the lead to one on a second-chance three-pointer by Juan Suarez with 51 seconds remaining. WNMU's Lucio Luttrell then picked Mike Matthews' pocket with 25 seconds left and drew a foul one second later. He made both free throw shots to give the Mustangs a 65-64 lead.
 
On FLC's ensuing possession, Marcus Ayala committed a turnover with 12 seconds left. FLC was forced to foul, and Andy Sohlich went 1-of-2 from the line to stretch the lead to 66-64 with 10 seconds remaining.
 
With five buzzer-beaters on its resume this year alone, Fort Lewis nearly forced overtime when Ayala got free for a layup chance with two seconds left on the clock, but missed the shot. FLC didn't have time to corral the rebound before the final buzzer sounded.
 
Fort Lewis also went cold late in the first half. It held its largest lead of the game at 12 points (31-19) with a minute-and-a-half left in the opening frame, only to see the Mustangs go on a 5-0 mini-run to trim the lead to seven at 31-24 at intermission.
 
The loss offset another mammoth effort by Skyhawk center Alex Herrera, who notched his eighth double-double of the season with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Herrera was a perfect 8-of-8 from the field and went 4-of-6 from the line. He also had three blocked shots.
 
Torrey Udall added 14 points and six rebounds, while Nick Tomsick scored 10 points.
 
Fort Lewis shot 50 percent from the field (25-of-50), but only 15.4 percent from three-point range (2-of-14).
 
Western New Mexico was led by Luttrell, who scored 25 points on 8-of-9 shooting from the field, 3-of-4 from behind the arc and 6-of-7 from the line. Chad Carter added 20 points, while Suarez chipped in 10.
 
The Mustangs shot just 40.4 percent from the field (23-of-57), but made 36.4 percent of their three-pointers (8-of-22).
 
Fort Lewis won the rebounding battle, 38-31.
 
“It's really a tough loss, but we can bounce back and go from here,” said Hofman.

Fort Lewis looks to regroup at New Mexico Highlands (10-10, 8-8) at 8 p.m. tonight. The Cowboys beat No. 14 Adams State last night, 74-72.

The Skyhawks beat Highlands 81-60 on Jan. 11 in Durango.