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Fort Lewis College Athletics

Scoreboard

Brendan La Rose 2.14
David Wilson, FLC Athletics
90
Winner Fort Lewis FLC 15-7,11-5 RMAC
73
Colo. Christian CC 7-17,4-14 RMAC
Winner
Fort Lewis FLC
15-7,11-5 RMAC
90
Final
73
Colo. Christian CC
7-17,4-14 RMAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Fort Lewis FLC 45 45 90
Colo. Christian CC 31 42 73

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

Skyhawks shoot a sizzling 52% from 3-point range, lead wire-to-wire in road win over CCU

LAKEWOOD, Colo. — The Fort Lewis College men's basketball team put an emphatic stamp on a tremendous four-day stretch of basketball, cruising to a 90-73 win over Colorado Christian University on Monday.

With the victory, Fort Lewis (15-7 overall, 11-5 RMAC) extended its season-long win streak to four games — three straight road wins in four days — and snapped a three-game losing skid to the Cougars (7-17 overall, 4-14 RMAC) inside CCU Events Center.

"The road trip was daunting when we started. But we just broke it down in segments, kept our focus on playing well one game at a time," said FLC head men's basketball coach, Bob Pietrack. "I thought our players, coaches, trainers; everybody just had great focus the entire trip. Our team is gelling right now and we've got a lot of older guys who know what month it is and don't want to see it come to an end. We're really fighting right now, collectively, as a group."

Fresh off nail-biting victories against Colorado School of Mines and No. 23 Regis University, the Skyhawks wasted left little doubt in Monday's performance as they stormed out to a 45-31 lead at the break, including a 10-3 run over the final 3:01 of the first half.

Senior forward Riley Farris paced a sizzling Skyhawks' offense, scoring 21 of his team-high 26 points through the opening 20 minutes. He finished the evening an efficient 7-of-9 from the floor — 5-of-7 from 3-point distance — while adding five rebounds and three steals, defensively.

"We were extremely focused right from the start. We knew we didn't want to get in a late dogfight with this team, especially in this building," Pietrack said. "I thought our All-American, Riley Farris, was sensational in the first half in making sure that we weren't going to be in that type of game."

Farris was far from the only FLC player feeling it from deep on Monday as the team tied its season high in 3-point makes (15) while shooting 52% (15-of-29) from long range and 57% (29-of-51) from the floor.

Senior point guard JacQuess Hobbs posted 16 points and five assists while making a pair of triples. Sophomore guard Akuel Kot added 11 points and three 3-pointers, while redshirt junior Brendan La Rose was the fourth Skyhawk in double-figures with 11 points and three 3-pointers, as well.

"Not a lot of teams have zoned us because we've historically shot the ball really well. But CCU zoned us because of our double-big lineup and we were able to get some really good shots out of it," Pietrack said. "We got into a rhythm early with Farris and La Rose. Sometimes shooting can be contagious and it was tonight."

Fort Lewis complimented its efficient offense with another tremendous defensive performance as it limited CCU to just 36% shooting (10-of-28) in the first half, led by the effort of senior guard Corey Seng.

Seng finished a team-best +28 in the plus/minus box score despite not taking a single shot on the evening. His task was to guard CCU's dynamic guard Ross Williams (19.2 PPG), limiting the Cougars' leading scorer to just seven points on 3-for-7 shooting.

"I really credit Corey for the job he did on Ross Williams. Corey didn't take a shot tonight, but he was probably the most valuable player," Pietrack said of Seng, who completed his evening with five rebounds, three assists and a steal.

With Williams held in check, the Cougars never threatened in the second half as Fort Lewis would go on to build its lead to as many as 26 points at 80-54 at the 5:01 mark en route to the 90-73 final. The victory was the first for FLC inside the CCU Events Center since January 28, 2017.

The Skyhawks will now turn their attention toward another tough three-game road trip next weekend, starting with a rematch against rival Adams State University at 7:30 p.m. Friday. Adams State narrowly defeated FLC, 90-89, when the two teams met in Durango on Jan. 22.

"This next road trip coming up is another difficult trip, starting with a rivalry game Friday against Adams State," Pietrack said. "Then we go to Pueblo, a team we lost to there last year, and then cap it with a primetime game against MSU Denver. We just need to keep doing what we're doing, keep believing in each other and I think we'll be in every ballgame."
 
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