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Fort Lewis College Men's Basketball Makes it Five-Straight, Tops Adams State 96-89

| By: Angela Roberts, Athletic Communications Assistant
Box Score ALAMOSA, Colo. – The Fort Lewis College men's basketball team made it five-straight with a 96-89 road win over Adams State University in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference action on Friday night. Fort Lewis improves to 16-7 overall and 12-5 in the league while Adams State falls to 11-12, 7-11 RMAC.

"Right now, we are being road warriors," said head coach Bob Pietrack. "We knew at the start of this six-game road trip we would be playing like we were in a championship game, and I think that's what you saw tonight. This was a wild game between two rivals where we really toughed out the last few minutes, and I'm really proud of this team tonight."

Fort Lewis shot 59.6 percent (31-of-52) from the field compared to 57.6 percent (34-of-59) for Adams State. The Grizzlies held the advantage from beyond the arc, connecting on 12 shots versus eight for the Skyhawks. Fort Lewis outrebounded Adams State at a 29-18 clip. The game featured six ties and four lead changes while the Skyhawks led for the majority of the contest.

Sophomore Akuel Kot led the team with 25 points, his fifth 20+ point outing of the season. Redshirt senior Riley Farris followed with 23 points to go along with five rebounds. Rounding out double-digit scoring for the Skyhawks was junior Brenden Boatwright and junior Dunnell Stafford with 14 points apiece. Senior JacQuess Hobbs had a well-rounding outing, putting up eight points, seven assists, and six rebounds.

"Any time you're in a big game, you want your stars to play well. Farris and Kot did just that, but Stafford was outstanding off the bench as well as Boatwright putting up 14 points in 20 minutes," noted Pietrack. "It was a great overall team win, and this group is gaining excitement every time we step on the court."

The teams were tied at 2-2 over the opening three minutes before a three-pointer for the Grizzlies gave the home team an edge. Senior Corey Seng answered back with a layup to find the Skyhawks down by one point with 16:54 on the clock. Farris gave his team their first lead of the night, making a trio of free throws for a 9-7 score at the 15:27 mark. The teams displayed streaky play in the following minutes before a three from sophomore Junior Garbrah had Fort Lewis ahead 17-13 with 12 minutes to play. Another three from Garbrah, this time with the clock hovering just over 10 minutes, pushed the Skyhawks ahead 22-19.

Senior Will Wittman and Kot each chipped in layups, their first scores of the outing, to extend the lead to 26-19 with 8:15 to go in the half. Both sides found their groove offensively over the following minutes with the score shifting to 33-29 with under five minutes remaining. Each Adams State attempt to close the gap was answered, this time with a smooth three from Dunnell Stafford to extend the lead to 40-31 with 2:12 on the clock. Kot closed out the half with a three, followed by a steal and layup to send the Skyhawks into the locker room leading 47-31 at the half.  

Offense remained stout out of the break with a Stafford jumper putting the Skyhawks ahead 55-36 with 16:53 on the clock. Adams State would then go on a scoring tear, pulling within seven points before a Boatwright dunk brought the score to 63-57. A Seng free throw had the Skyhawks up by three, but the Grizzlies answered right back with a game-tying three to make it 66-66 with 8:31 remaining in the game. Adams State would take a 68-66 lead moments later to send the teams into a media timeout.

Stafford took matters into his own hands after the break, tallying five points to give the Skyhawks a 71-68 advantage with six minutes to play. The teams went blow for blow from beyond the arc, including two good shots from Kot and Stafford, to bring things to 76-71 with 4:59 to go. Kot continued his tear, driving to the rim for a layup and an 80-71 score before the Grizzlies responded with a three to cut into the lead.

Adams State executed the game plan to get the Skyhawks to the charity stripe, but Fort Lewis responded with made shots to extend the lead to 87-76 with 1:16 remaining. The Grizzlies took advantage of fouls called against the Skyhawks, making five free throws to see the score at 88-84 as the clock ticked under one minute. Fort Lewis continued to connect on free throws while the Grizzlies faltered offensively down the stretch, ending things in a 96-89 final score.

Fort Lewis (16-7, 12-5) will look ahead to a 7:30 p.m. slate with CSU-Pueblo tomorrow night. The Skyhawks got the better of the ThunderWolves when the teams met on January 21st, coming away with an 85-76 home win. 
 
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