Fort Lewis FLC 17-7,13-5 RMAC

Colorado St.-Pueblo CSU-P 11-15,8-12 RMAC

Fort Lewis FLC

17-7,13-5 RMAC

Final

Feb. 19, 2022

Colorado St.-Pueblo CSU-P

11-15,8-12 RMAC

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
Fort Lewis FLC	47	50	97
Colorado St.-Pueblo CSU-P	34	50	84

Summary
Box Score

Chris Neal, Shooter Imaging

Sophomore guard Akuel Kot posted a career-high 42 points in the win over CSU Pueblo

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | 2/19/2022 10:15:00 PM | Angela Roberts, Athletic Communications Assistant

Kot Sinks 42 Points, Skyhawks Top ThunderWolves for Sixth Straight Win

PUEBLO, Colo. – Sophomore Akuel Kot went off for 42 points, second-most in a single game in school history, to lead the Fort Lewis College men's basketball team to a 97-84 win over CSU Pueblo on Saturday night. The win was the sixth straight for the Skyhawks—five of which have come on the road.

In addition to the highlight night for the sophomore, the win is the seventh-straight road win for the Skyhawks to set a new program record. Fort Lewis improves to 17-7 overall and 13-5 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference while CSU Pueblo drops to 11-15 on the year and 8-12 in the league.

"Kot had a special night, and I'm so proud to see him truly blossoming right in front of everybody's eyes," said head coach Bob Pietrack. "We knew when we got him a few years back that he had a chance to be a great Fort Lewis basketball player, and all of our hopes for what he could be are coming true. He's a hard worker and a great teammate who represents the team in such an admirable way."

Following on the offensive side of things was redshirt senior Riley Farris with 21 points and junior Brenden Boatwright with 10 points to his credit. Senior Will Wittman led the team with seven rebounds to go along with eight points. Redshirt Senior Corey Seng dished out four assists while coming away with five boards.

"We had so many big performances surrounding Kot tonight. Farris had another great offensive showing while Wittman was a game-changer for us after battling back from injury. Without those performances, we don't come out on the winning side of that game," acknowledged Pietrack. "I'm so proud of the focus that this team has shown during this tough road stretch."

Fort Lewis shot 50.8 percent (31-of-61) from the field compared to 48.4 percent (31-of-64) for CSU Pueblo. Fort Lewis knocked down eight shots from three versus five for the opposition while outrebounding the ThunderWolves at a 40-33 clip.

Both sides were offensive minded from the get go with a jumper from Farris knotting the score at 9-9 after three minutes of play. The Pack follow up the early momentum with a trio of free throws to go up 13-9 before a three-point play from junior Dunnell Stafford pulled the blue and gold within one. The Skyhawks saw their first lead of the night with a layup from Wittman, going ahead 14-13 with 13:53 on the clock. Fort Lewis continued to pull ahead, this time with a 12-0 scoring run to go up 21-15 while holding the Pack scoreless for over four minutes of play.

Kot drained a deep three for his 11^th point of the game, putting Fort Lewis ahead 26-17 and forcing a Pueblo timeout with the clock hovering above nine minutes. It would be Kot again as the sophomore connected on his fourth three of the night to extend the lead to 12 points. The lead hovered around that same margin as a spinning layup from Seng dropped in for a 33-20 score with six minutes to play. The lead extended to 41-24 when an offensive rebound from Wittman ended in a Farris three with three minutes remaining. The Pack benefited from free throws down the stretch to cut into the deficit, but an authoritative dunk from Wittman closed out the half with the Skyhawks ahead 47-34.

The Pack kicked off the second half on a tear, draining a pair of threes to bring the score to 51-42 in favor of the Skyhawks. CSU Pueblo continued its pursuit, but Farris quieted the onslaught of cheers with a deep three to see Fort Lewis ahead 54-44 with 16:34 to go. The Skyhawks continued to restore order following the brief CSU Pueblo pursuit, taking a 60-46 lead behind a Stafford three. The Pack wouldn't go away without a fight, though, jumping out on a nine-point scoring run to cut the lead to six points with 11:33 on the clock. Fort Lewis finally found an answer as Boatwright tipped in a shot just before the media timeout.

Free throws were the name of the game for both teams as a flurry from the charity stripe moved the score to 70-59 with under ten minutes remaining. Kot continued to find an answer to the pursuing defenders, converting on a three-point play to extend the lead to 77-64 with 6:58 to play. The guard's performance continued to elevate, reaching a new career-high with 34 points to extend his team's lead to 17 points with four minutes to play. Much like earlier in the contest, the Pack kept in the game with a scoring run to narrow the lead to 85-74. The Skyhawks continued to make free throws down the stretch to keep the ThunderWolves at bay, carrying a 92-82 lead into the final minute of play. Charity stripe points highlighted the final minute of play for a 97-84 final from Pueblo.

"We are taking it one game at a time. We have an older group of players who are hungry for success and haven't tasted it in the past few seasons," noted Pietrack. "They go out every night and play like they are competing for an RMAC Championship, and I think that is proving to be a difference-maker during this stretch."

Fort Lewis (17-7, 13-5 RMAC) wraps up the six-game road stand on Monday with a 6:00 p.m. tipoff versus MSU Denver (16-8, 10-8 RMAC). It will be the first meeting between the teams this season.

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