Regis (CO) Regis 19-9,13-8 RMAC

Fort Lewis FLC 19-9,15-6 RMAC

Regis (CO) Regis

19-9,13-8 RMAC

Final

Mar. 01, 2022

Fort Lewis FLC

19-9,15-6 RMAC

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
Regis (CO) Regis	42	44	86
Fort Lewis FLC	26	55	81

Summary
Box Score

Hayden Raymond, High Altitude Productions

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | 3/1/2022 9:37:00 PM | Angela Roberts, Athletic Communications Assistant

Second-Half Surge Not Enough in Men's Basketball's RMAC Tournament Quarterfinal Loss to Regis

DURANGO, Colo. – A second-half scoring surge wasn't enough for the No. 3-seeded Fort Lewis College men's basketball team in an 86-81 loss to No. 6-seeded Regis University in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament Quarterfinal game on Tuesday night. Fort Lewis closes out the season with a 19-9 overall record while Regis advances to the semifinal round with a record of 19-9.

"Tonight was obviously a tough loss, and we tip our hat to Regis. They are a good basketball team, and we tip our hats to them for advancing," said head coach Bob Pietrack. "It's a bitter pill to swallow, and we picked a really bad time to have a rough 10 minutes of basketball in the first half. We dug ourselves a hole that we couldn't get out of, but I commend our guys for fighting to pull within two. In the end, it just wasn't our night and that's part of sports."

Fort Lewis ended the game shooting 48.4 percent (30-of-62) with help from a 63.4 percent second half. Regis shot 53.8 percent (28-of-52) and went 22-of-24 from the charity stripe. A big factor in tonight's outing came via turnovers where the Skyhawks committed 13 in the first half en route to a 42-26 deficit after 20 minutes of play.

Senior leadership kept the Skyhawks in the game with JacQuess Hobbs and Will Wittman putting up 17 points apiece. Wittman was instrumental in the near comeback, going 4-of-6 from three down the stretch and tallying 10 rebounds to keep his team within striking distance. Senior Corey Seng was a do-it-all player with 16 points, four rebounds, and three assists to close out his career.

The teams were neck and neck from the jump as a commanding dunk from junior Brendan La Rose had Fort Lewis ahead 10-7 after five minutes of play. La Rose and sophomore Akuel Kot tallied back-to-back threes to extend the lead, but a seven-point run by the Rangers had it knotted at 16-16. Regis started to find a groove over the next several minutes, going ahead 25-19 with 5:46 remaining. Wittman snapped the spell with his first three of the night to pull his team within three.

Regis had enough of the close proximity, exploding for 13-straight to go ahead 42-24 with under a minute remaining in the half. Kot put in a pair of free throws to close out the half with Fort Lewis down 42-26. The Rangers earned 15 points on Skyhawks turnovers in the half which aided in the sizable lead heading into the locker rooms.

Offense was the name of the game out of the break with both sides knocking down buckets to see the score at 54-36 in favor of the Rangers. The Fort Lewis seniors took control from there, combining for 24 points to find the team down by just six points with 8:53 to go. Junior Brenden Boatwright dropped in a layup, followed by a pair of free throws for Stafford to see Fort Lewis down 66-64 with seven minutes remaining.

The Rangers responded with back-to-back three-pointers to reclaim a sizable lead, but Wittman was called on for another three to put the team back within five points. The Skyhawks pulled within a pair on two occasions, once with a three from redshirt senior Riley Farris, to cut the lead down to just two points with 1:19 on the clock. Despite the late comeback, the Rangers earned four free throws down the stretch to run away with an 86-81 win.

Tonight's loss marks the end of four Skyhawks careers with Riley Farris, JacQuess Hobbs, Corey Seng, and Will Wittman hanging up their jersey. The group led the team to eight-straight wins, seven of which came on the road to break a school record and leave behind a legacy of hard work, grit, and tireless effort which sets a standard for years to come.

"Skyhawks nation should be really proud of this team. We were picked to finish fifth in the league and ended up in third. We had some unbelievable wins, and the message moving forward is that this program is back and will continue to be relevant in competing for championships from now on," ended Pietrack.

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