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Fort Lewis College Athletics

Scoreboard

Akuel Kot 2.12
David Wilson, FLC Athletics
FLC sophomore Akuel Kot scored 31 of his career-high 33 in the second half of Friday's 81-75 win over No. 23 Regis.
81
Winner Fort Lewis FLC 14-7,10-5 RMAC
75
Regis (CO) Regis 17-6,12-5 RMAC
Winner
Fort Lewis FLC
14-7,10-5 RMAC
81
Final
75
Regis (CO) Regis
17-6,12-5 RMAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Fort Lewis FLC 31 50 81
Regis (CO) Regis 39 36 75

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

Kot's sensational second half propels Skyhawks to 81-75 road win over No. 23 Regis

LAKEWOOD, Colo. — Behind a monumental performance from sophomore guard Akuel Kot, the Fort Lewis College men's basketball team put an exclamation point on their second consecutive road sweep, riding Kot's hot hand to an 81-75 victory over No. 23 Regis University.

Limited to two points on 1-of-6 shooting in the first half, Kot responded with arguably the best scoring half in FLC history as he poured in 31 of his career-high 33 points on 10-of-12 shooting in the second half, helping the Skyhawks (14-7 overall, 10-5 RMAC) erase a 39-31 halftime deficit.

"I've been at Fort Lewis for 22 years if you count being a player and assistant, and we've had so many great players here throughout the years, but I don't know if we've ever had a player have that great of a half like what Akuel did," said FLC head men's basketball coach, Bob Pietrack. "That's the greatest scoring half I've ever seen. And we've had some unbelievable scorers in this program."

The victory was the first for the Skyhawks over a ranked opponent since the 2017-18 season and avenged an 81-71 loss to the Rangers (17-6 overall, 12-5 RMAC) back on Dec. 17 in Durango.

Paired with their road win Friday against Colorado School of Mines, Fort Lewis has vaulted to a tie for fourth place in the RMAC standings (.667 win percentage) while making the team proud owners of three crucial road wins (Colorado Mesa, Mines and Regis) that carry significant weight in the RPI system used to determine the RMAC standings final seeding.

"This win was special considering Regis was ranked and we beat a really good Mines team (Friday). Our team is making strides, but I don't think we've peaked yet. We can still get a lot better," Pietrack said. "Since the loss to New Mexico Highlands (Feb. 4), we've really responded with three wins against three great teams."

Kot got Saturday's comeback starter with back-to-back 3-pointers at the 18:25 and 18:06 marks, pulling FLC back within five at 45-40. The Skyhawks would take their first lead of the second half at the 15:35 mark when redshirt junior Brendan La Rose splashed home a corner trey for three of his eight points.

La Rose added three rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot in his season-high 20 minutes.

"I thought La Rose's energy was outstanding. Defensively, he changed the game," Pietrack said. "Obviously, Akuel was the Player of the Game. But you could argue La Rose because of how great his energy was. That's what you expect from a veteran player."

Regis would not go away quietly as the Rangers pulled back even with the Skyhawks at 72-72 with 3:00 remaining, but there was no containing Kot as he scored seven of FLC's final nine points to put a bow on the 81-75 final.

As a team, Fort Lewis shot 61% (17-of-28) from the floor in the second half after struggling at a 35% clip (11-for-32) through the first 20 minutes.

Kot's performance not only elevated the percentage, but opened up more scoring options for the Skyhawks as senior forward Riley Farris (14 points, 5 rebounds) and redshirt junior Brenden Boatwright (11 points, 9 rebounds) got going in the second half to join Kot in double-figures.

Junior guard Dunnell Stafford would add seven points and senior point guard JacQuess Hobbs, the hero in Friday's victory against Mines with two clutch free throws, tallied three points and a team-high six assists.

"(Regis) was packing the defense in so much on Riley and Boat early, then Akuel opened the offense up for us," Pietrack said. "I thought Riley and Boatwright both had good second halves and, defensively, we got key stops down the stretch to close it out. Just an incredible effort by our guys."

The Skyhawks, winners of six of its past seven games, have hit their stride entering the final two weeks of the regular season. They will enjoy a quick day off Sunday before continuing the next leg of its current six-game road trip on Monday with a 6 p.m. make-up game against Colorado Christian University.

Fort Lewis will be looking to earn their first win inside the CCU Events Center since Jan. 28, 2017.

"Due to some injuries and sickness, we were unable to really get into a rhythm the first half of the season. This is the first time that we've started to have a lot of rhythm to our season," Pietrack said. "We'll prepare for Monday now like we do every game. And we'll be motivated because I think we've lost the last three games on the road against Colorado Christian. We know the challenge ahead of us and know we'll need to be prepared to get the result we want."
 
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