Fort Lewis FLC 2-0,0-0 RMAC

Angelo St. ASU 1-1,0-0 Lone Star

Fort Lewis FLC

2-0,0-0 RMAC

Final

Nov. 12, 2022

Angelo St. ASU

1-1,0-0 Lone Star

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
Fort Lewis FLC	39	40	79
Angelo St. ASU	32	38	70

Summary
Box Score

JoJo Lutz, Fort Lewis Athletic Communications

Akuel Kot (22) splits three defenders for the layup.

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | 11/12/2022 2:44:00 PM | Hayden Mangan, Athletic Communications Assistant

Kot propels Skyhawks to 79-70 victory over Rams, Fort Lewis sweeps RMAC/LSC Challenge

LAS VEGAS, N.M. – Akuel Kot paved the way with 29 points as the Fort Lewis College men's basketball team felled (RV) Angelo State University by a score of 79-70 in the final game of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference-Lone Star Conference challenge hosted by New Mexico Highlands University in Las Vegas, New Mexico.

The Skyhawks are now 2-0 overall, and unbeaten in regional contests. The Rams fall to 1-1 overall after defeating New Mexico Highlands last night.

"Akuel was sensational, in Kot we trust," Fort Lewis College Head Coach Bob Pietrack said. "You also cannot underestimate just how important Boatwright is to us down low. When you're early in the season and still developing as a program, you need primetime players to step up; Kot and Boat did just that."

It was an offensive battle from the get-go between the Rams and Skyhawks. Angelo State took a pair of three-point leads early in the opening half, but then Junior Garbrah found nothing but net from the three-point line to give Fort Lewis a 15-12 lead, and plenty of momentum.

The Skyhawks began to pull away, leading by as many as ten when Akuel Kot drilled a step-back three with just over five minutes on the clock for a 31-21 lead.

As the quarter began to wind down, the Rams began to find openings in the Skyhawks defense. Devaughn Thomas found the basket underneath for his first score of the game and made the and-one after a foul from Brenden Boatwright to cut the lead to 39-32 at the end of the first half.

Out of the half, Angelo State rallied and a free throw from Reggie Quezada knotted the game up at 47-47.

Quezada began to heat up, and after exchanging a pair of heat-checks from the three-point line and evading the Skyhawks in the post, the Rams found themselves with an eight-point lead and just over eight minutes on the clock.

Fort Lewis began to climb back, and a huge three-pointer from Garbrah in the left corner finally lifted the Skyhawks back on top 67-66 for the final lead change of the game.

Angelo State was unable to find its footing after Garbrah's three, and a series of fouls that featured two technical fouls kept Fort Lewis at the free-throw line, sealing the game 79-70.

"These regional games are like a heavyweight fight. Some rounds will go your way, some won't. When your back is against the wall, you have to lock in and battle back. I'm so proud of these guys today with how they stayed in it and brought it home in the final minutes."

Kot finished with 29 points, shooting a combined 6-14 from the floor, 3-6 at the three-point line, and a near-perfect 14-16 at the free-throw line. Boatwright added 18 points, and JaQuaylon Mays and Garbrah each provided eight more.

Quezada had a phenomenal game for the Rams, tallying 30 points on shooting 11-17 from the floor, 3-5 from the three-point line, and 5-6 at the free-throw line.

Angelo State outshot the Skyhawks from the field 45.6% to 41.8%, but the difference maker was Fort Lewis' was 42.1% from the three-point line to the Rams 25%.

The Rams outrebounded the Skyhawks 37-25.

NOTABLES
-Akuel Kot has now scored 20+ points in back-to-back games to open the season.
-Brenden Boatwright has scored 12+ points in back-to-back games and leads the roster with 16 total rebounds.
-Not only are the Skyhawks 2-0 to open the season for the first time since 2020-21, but the pair of wins puts FLC 2-0 against South Central Regional opponents.

NEXT UP
Fort Lewis returns to Durango, Colo., for its home opener next Friday, Nov. 18, against Northern New Mexico College. As a part of both the Skyhawks Hardwood Classic and Nike N7 games, the Skyhawks will face off with the Eagles at 5:30 p.m. in Whalen Gymnasium.

Print Friendly Version