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Fort Lewis College Athletics

Scoreboard

84
Winner Fort Lewis FLC 1-0,0-0 RMAC
81
Eastern N.M. EastNM 0-1,0-0 Lone Star
Winner
Fort Lewis FLC
1-0,0-0 RMAC
84
Final
81
Eastern N.M. EastNM
0-1,0-0 Lone Star
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Fort Lewis FLC 33 51 84
Eastern N.M. EastNM 41 40 81
Brenden Boatwright against Snow College (Exhibition) 2022
JoJo Lutz, Fort Lewis Athletic Communications
Boatwright (33) floats the ball up and over two defenders for the basket.

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Hayden Mangan, Athletic Communications Assistant

Boatwright beats the buzzer, Skyhawks escape Greyhounds 84-81 in season opener

LAS VEGAS, N.M. – Kot scored 22, Mays added 20, but it was Brenden Boatwright who beat the buzzer to lift Fort Lewis College over Eastern New Mexico University by a score of 84-81 in its non-conference season opener at the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference-Lone Star Conference Challenge late Friday afternoon.
 
The Skyhawks made the narrow escape to open the season on a 1-0 high note, while the Greyhounds now find themselves 0-1 to begin the year.
 
"Hats off to Eastern New Mexico, I thought they really outplayed us tonight," Fort Lewis College Head Coach Bob Pietrack stated. "We chased them uphill nearly all game. What gave us the edge is our program's history of success, grit, and toughness to play through and understand games are won in the final two minutes. They missed some shots, and we made a few, but it was really Boatwright who sealed the deal."
 
After jumping to a quick 13-5 lead in the opening half, the Skyhawks quickly found themselves in what seemed like an unescapable hole. The Greyhounds offense finally clicked, taking the lead by as many as twelve in the opening half and a 41-33 lead at halftime.
 
Coming out of the half, Fort Lewis still could not find any holes in the Eastern New Mexico defense. Dunnell Stafford sunk a layup in the post down the stretch, cutting the lead to seven and breathing life into the Skyhawks.
 
JaQuaylon Mays hit a pair of clutch free-throws just outside of the two-minute mark to tie the game at 77-77, the first since Eastern New Mexico tied, and took the lead shortly into the opening half of the game.
 
The Greyhounds continued to attack, pulling away once more by four points, until Brenden Boatwright grabbed his own rebound off the glass for a tip-in layup and the tie at 81-81.

Moments later with the game on the line, a missed shot by Eze Dike of the Greyhounds left Fort Lewis with just six seconds left. Junior Garbrah took the ball up court, eventually kicking it to Boatwright just beyond the three-point line. Boatwright split through two defenders and found nothing but net for the 84-81 win with zeros on the clock.
 
"I'm so proud of Boatwright," Pietrack said. "He's a six-year veteran who has bought in and given so much to this program. To see it all come to fruition and have a moment like that, those don't come very often in life."
 
Akuel Kot led the Skyhawks in scoring, shooting 5-15 from the floor, 3-9 from the three-point line, and 9-11 at the free-throw line for 22 points. Mays added 20 more, and Boatwright secured a double-double with 10 rebounds and 12 points thanks to the buzzer-beating three.
"Kot and Mays were instrumental in tonight's win. While they might have missed some shots here and there, it was ultimately their performance that put us in the position to win it at the buzzer."
 
Grehlon Easter led the Greyhounds with 14 points while Greg Johnson provided 13 more and Blazej Czerniewicz 11 as well.
 
Eastern New Mexico dominated Fort Lewis under the basket, leading in both rebounds 36-32 and points in the paint 30-16.
 
NEXT UP
The Skyhawks are right back at it tomorrow afternoon, facing off with the (RV) Angelo State Rams at 12:00 p.m. in another RMAC/LSC Challenge contest.
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