Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

Fort Lewis College Athletics

Scoreboard

Marquel Beasley
Antolin Gervacio, Sports Fantatic Photography
74
Winner Western N.M. M-1445
70
Fort Lewis M-1083
Winner
Western N.M. M-1445
74
Final
70
Fort Lewis M-1083
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Western N.M. M-1445 34 40 74
Fort Lewis M-1083 30 40 70

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Brian Kortz

Beasley Posts Double-Double in Tight Battle With Mustangs

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – With both teams having a chance to pull out the game down the stretch, Western New Mexico University was able to hold off the Fort Lewis College men's basketball team and claim a slim 74-70 victory Saturday at The Pit in Albuquerque.

Marquel Beasley logged 38 minutes and picked up a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds, going 6-12 from the field. He also came away with a pair of steals. Riley Farris scored a team-high 18 points, while also grabbing seven rebounds and sending back a pair of blocks. Alex Semadeni rounded out the three to score in double-figures collecting 1- points and just missing a double-double with nine rebounds and three assists.

FLC (1-1) made 23-65 (35.4) from the field, 7-19 (36.8) from three and struggled at the foul line making 17-34 (50). The Skyhawks held a solid advantage in second-chance points (20-8). Farris helped spark an early 4-0 run for FLC when he hit a foul shot, then stepped back and drained a three-pointer. The run reached 6-0 when AJ Sparks hit two from the foul line for a 6-2 lead four minutes in.

The lead stretched to five on several occasions, first on a pair from the foul line by Semadeni and then on a layup by Brenden Boatwright for a 14-9 lead near the midway point of the half. Still holding a five-point lead, WNMU (2-0) went on a 13-0 run to open a 24-16 lead with six minutes to go before halftime.

FLC quickly reversed the trend, unleashing their own 8-0 run to tie the game at 24. During the run, Farris hit a foul shot, Beasley tallied a layup, Michael Ranson dialed long distance and Beasley punctuated the run with a dunk to tie the game at 24 with 3:36 to go before halftime.

WNMU went back in front by six when Beasley closed the half with a layup leaving the Mustangs with a 34-30 lead at the break.

To start the second half, the Mustangs moved out to their largest lead of the game at 10, 42-32, just over two minutes in. Seven straight points by Beasley and Farris helped quickly trim the deficit back to three at 42-39. The Skyhawks kept chipping away, eventually fighting back to take the lead at the 8:11 mark when Otas Iyekekpolor grabbed an offensive rebound and put back for the 56-55 lead.

Iyekekpolor then stepped back and hit a three and after he then converted a layup, FLC was looking at a 61-56 lead with 6:36 to play. Ranson pushed the lead back out to six when he drained a three with just under five to play.

A big WNMU run followed, going on an 11-0 spurt to take a 69-64 lead with 1:06 to play. Ranson ended the run with another three just 11 seconds later to trim the deficit to two.
Jon-Reese Woodson hit a big jumper on the next Mustang trip down the floor to push the lead back to four with 28 seconds to play. FLC drew a foul on their next trip down, but Keven Biggs split a pair from the line to leave it a three-point game with 22 seconds to play.

Eleven seconds ticked off before FLC fouled Leston Gordon who split two from the line to make it a four-point game with 11 seconds to play. FLC pushed and tried to hit a three, but it wasn't to be and after WNMU hit two from the line, there wasn't enough time to come back with WNMU taking the 74-70 win.

Woodson led four Mustangs in double-figures tallying 15 points and six rebounds. WNMU made 23-59 (39) from the field, 4-16 (25) from three and 24-35 (68.6) from the foul line. The Mustangs held an edge in fastbreak points (25-15) and points in the paint (32-26).

FLC will now return home for their home opener on Wednesday against Northern New Mexico starting at 7:30 p.m. inside Whalen Gym. It will also be the Nike N7 games presented by Sean McCabe, CPA.
 
Print Friendly Version