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Fort Lewis College Athletics

Scoreboard

Corey Seng 2.15
Bob Bonnar, FLC Athletics
69
Fort Lewis FLC 13-12/7-12 RMAC
73
Winner Dixie State DSMB 21-4/16-3 RMAC
Fort Lewis FLC
13-12/7-12 RMAC
69
Final
73
Dixie State DSMB
21-4/16-3 RMAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Fort Lewis FLC 34 35 69
Dixie State DSMB 27 46 73

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | David Wilson, Assistant AD-Communications

FLC men's basketball falls shy in upset bid of No. 15 Dixie State

ST. GEORGE, Utah — The Fort Lewis College men's basketball team scratched, clawed and pushed the No. 15 ranked team in the country to the brink on Saturday night, but had its upset bid fall shy as Dixie State University held on for the 73-69 final.

"I told the guys that there are tough times in life like there are tough times in basketball. Our program is going through a little bit of a rough time these last three weeks, but I'm very proud of the guys for how hard they played," said Fort Lewis head coach, Bob Pietrack. "They really played their hearts out. We have a lot of people who have pride in our program."

Fort Lewis (13-12 overall, 7-12 RMAC) led by as many as nine in a first half that saw the Skyhawks' defense rise up and hold the powerful and RMAC-leading Trailblazers (21-4 overall, 16-3 RMAC) to a pedestrian 38% shooting (11-of-29) through the first 20 minutes.

The Skyhawks owned a 34-27 lead at the breaking, limiting Dixie State to 0-for-3 from the 3-point line in the first half and 5-for-11 from deep on the evening after the Trailblazers made 10 3-pointers in the two teams' first meeting back in Durango on Jan. 31.

"We've been trying to keep people off the 3-point line and I thought we did a really good job of doing that both games this weekend," Pietrack said. "We only gave up eight 3-pointers combined this weekend after averaging 10 (3-pointers against) a game. Something we're doing, defensively, is working and we've made some adjustments on ball-screens that we think is helping."

Redshirt junior Riley Farris lead all Skyhawks with 21 points, 11 coming in the first half when he was 5-for-5 from the field.

Junior guard Corey Seng scored 13 points and grabbed eight rebounds, while fellow junior Will Wittman went for nine points and grabbed a team-high 10 boards.

The duo combined for seven of FLC's nine offensive rebounds, which was a huge part of FLC's second-half offense to keep them in the ballgame as a Seng put-back tied the score at 68-68 with 52 seconds remaining.

"They did a nice job offensive rebounding. Corey and Will exemplify what we're looking for. They play hard every night," Pietrack said. "They really left it all out there."

Unfortunately for the Skyhawks, the ensuing possession DSU's Hunter Schofield buried a straightaway 3-pointer to give the Trailblazers the lead back for good at 71-68.

Schofield finished with 19 points, while DSU point guard Jack Pagenkoft scored a career-high 27 points to lead all scorers.

"We were a couple free throws away and one long 3-pointer away," Pietrack said. "If Schofield's shot misses and we get the rebound, it very well could have been a different outcome."

FLC was just 8-of-17 from the foul line and 5-of-11 in the second half.

The Skyhawks will now turn their attention toward their final home stand of the season, and the final three-game stretch, starting Friday at 7:30 p.m. against rivals Colorado Mesa University inside Whalen Gymnasium.

"Our focus right now will be that we play our three regional rivals to end the season in Colorado Mesa, Western Colorado and Adams State," Pietrack said. "We've got to find a way to finish on a high note, send our senior Danny Garrick out on a high note, and try to gain some momentum with such a young team heading into next year."
 
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