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Fort Lewis College Athletics

Scoreboard

AJ Sparks
Durango Family Photography
67
Westminster (UT) WC 9-13, 7-11 RMAC
74
Winner Fort Lewis FLC 11-13, 6-12 RMAC
Westminster (UT) WC
9-13, 7-11 RMAC
67
Final
74
Fort Lewis FLC
11-13, 6-12 RMAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Westminster (UT) WC 37 30 67
Fort Lewis FLC 30 44 74

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Brian Kortz

Strong Second Half Sends Men’s Basketball Past Griffins

DURANGO, Colo. – Trailing by as many as 11 in the first half and by seven at halftime, the Fort Lewis College men's basketball team found their stride in the second half as they stormed back to take the 74-67 win over Westminster in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference action Friday inside Whalen Gym.

FLC (11-13, 6-12 RMAC) trailed by 11 a couple of times in the first half, including with 1:36 to play before the break, but ended the half on a strong 4-0 run and then carried the momentum right into the second half. After starting the second half on a 4-0 run, the Skyhawks put together an 8-0 run between the haves in just over two minutes of play to get right back into the contest.

Down 37-26 with 1:36 to go before the break, AJ Sparks hit a layup and then Brenden Boatwright finished strong with a dunk leaving Westminster (9-13, 7-11 RMAC) with the 37-30 lead at halftime. Then backed by a 44-30 edge in the second half, the Skyhawks surged back for the win.

The Skyhawks also took advantage at the foul line, going 18-32, while the Griffins went 3-7 at the charity stripe.

To open the second half, Otas Iyekekpolor threw down a dunk and on the next trip down, Marquel Beasley slammed another dunk, both off assists from Sparks, to trim the deficit to three.

After a Westminster basket, FLC ripped off the next eight points to take their first lead of the game. Sparks started the run with a jumper, Will Wittman drilled a three-pointer and then a three from Sparks had FLC with the 42-39 lead with 17:11 to play in the game.

FLC stretched the lead out to four on a Boatwright free throw and still holding a three-point lead, another 8-0 run was started when Boatwright hit two from the line, Beasley threw down another dunk off a steal by Sparks and then Iyekekpolor hit a jumper and then two from the line to take their largest lead of the game at 60-49 with 7:25 to play.

The Griffins made a push over the next few minutes, pulling to within five with 4:18 to play. FLC had an answer, with Boatwright hitting a tough layup in the paint while being fouled. He would add the foul shot to push the lead back to eight.

A Beasley tip-in with just over two minutes to play had the lead back to 10 and after that the Skyhawks would cruise to the win as Westminster would chip three points off the lead before FLC claimed the 74-67 victory.

Early in the first half the Griffins couldn't miss from three-point range going 7-10. They quickly moved out to a 10-4 lead five minutes in. FLC cut the deficit back to one a couple of times, first on a three-pointer by Alex Semadeni and then on a dunk by Boatwright to leave the Griffins with a 12-11 lead near the midway point of the half.

A Boatwright layup tied the game at 14, but Westminster kept coming using a 10-1 run to take a 24-15 lead. The Griffins then claimed a couple of 11 point leads before FLC surged back to take the victory.

Boatwright led four Skyhawks in double-figures with 17 points, along with five rebounds. Beasley tallied 16 points and five rebounds, along with three steals. Iyekekpolor posted 14 points, four rebounds and three steals, while Sparks added 12 points, five assists and three steals. FLC went 25-51 (49) from the field, 6-13 (46) from three and 18-32 (56) at the foul line.

Jake Connor led Westminster with 17 points, Brandon Warr tallied 16 and Joonas Tahvanainen had a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. The Griffins went 27-52 (52) from the field, 10-20 (50) from three and 3-7 (43) at the foul line.

FLC forced 17 turnovers and turned that into a 24-14 advantage on points off turnovers. The Skyhawks also held the edge on second-chance points (5-2), bench points (20-16), points in the paint (34-30) and fastbreak points (9-4).

The Skyhawks will remain at home tomorrow (Saturday) when they will face Dixie State starting at 7:30 p.m. inside Whalen Gym. The Trailblazers won their ninth straight game defeating Adams State, 96-63, earlier on Friday.
 
 
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