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Fort Lewis College Athletics

Scoreboard

Otas Iyekekpolor
Durango Family Photography
62
Southwest N.M. USW 1-5
65
Winner Fort Lewis FLC 3-1
Southwest N.M. USW
1-5
62
Final
65
Fort Lewis FLC
3-1
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Southwest N.M. USW 35 27 62
Fort Lewis FLC 25 40 65

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Brian Kortz

Big Second Half Sends Men’s Basketball Past Mustangs

DURANGO, Colo. – Despite trailing for a majority of the game, the Fort Lewis College men's basketball team dug deep and led when it mattered most. Down double-digits in the second half, the Skyhawks took a late lead at just under three minutes to play and held off the University of the Southwest for a 65-62 win Friday night inside Whalen Gym.

Down 10 at the break and 12 early in the second half, FLC (3-1) at one point was facing a 14-point deficit with 12:51 to play. After four minutes went by and the deficit was still 12, the Skyhawks found the energy and began their comeback. Marquel Beasley got things going with a layup off a nifty assist by Cesar Molina. Otas Iyekekpolor and Keven Biggs then sunk back-to-back three-pointers to trim the deficit to four. After Biggs split a pair from the line, Beasley stepped back and hit his own three-pointer to tie the game at 53 with 6:04 to play.

Following a mini 5-0 run by the University of the Southwest (2-5), FLC fought right back to take their first lead of the second half with 2:41 to play when Beasley turned a steal into a fastbreak layup. Alex Semadeni stretched the lead to three with a layup on the next trip down the floor.

A big offensive series happened with roughly a minute to play after the teams traded foul shots and the Mustangs were within one, FLC missed on a three and a layup, when Biggs flew in an recorded a huge tip-in with 1:13 to play to push FLC to a 64-61 lead.

That proved to be big, as the University of the Southwest eventually came back down and split a pair from the line leaving it a two-point game. On the ensuing FLC possession, the Mustangs had to foul with just four seconds remaining. Semadeni split a pair from the line, missing the second one meaning the clock was running on the rebound. The Mustangs grabbed the board and pushed it just across midcourt where John Paul Garcia was waiting and he launched the deep three that went halfway down, before kicking out to give FLC the three-point win.

To start the game, neither team was able to create more than a two-point lead until Garcia hit a three for the University of the Southwest at the 10:11 mark to give the Mustangs a 20-17 lead. The Mustangs closed the half on a 5-0 run to open a 35-25 lead at halftime. That setup the big second half to bring FLC back for the win.

Beasley went for a game-high 28 points on 11-21 shooting, along with a pair of three-pointers. He also made it a double-double with 12 rebounds. He sent back three blocks and came away with four steals. Iyekekpolor also tallied a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds. He sent back four blocks and went 4-9 from the field. Semadeni tallied eight points and pulled down 11 rebounds. He played 39 minutes and dished out six assists.

FLC went 24-69 (35) from the field, 5-22 (23) from three and 12-29 (41) at the foul line.

Rontrell Hills led the Mustangs with 14 points, as three players reached double-figures. Demond Parker had a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. They made 22-50 (44) from the field, 4-11 (36) from three and 14-23 (61) from the foul line.

FLC held a 22-20 edge on points off turnovers, held the second-chance point advantage (22-5), bench points (17-11) and points in the paint (32-30).

The Skyhawks will remain at home this coming Wednesday when they will host Haskell Indian Nations starting at 5 p.m. inside Whalen Gym.
 
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