Colorado Mesa CMU 15-3,10-2 RMAC

Fort Lewis FLC 15-2,9-2 RMAC

Colorado Mesa CMU

15-3,10-2 RMAC

Final

Jan. 20, 2023

Fort Lewis FLC

15-2,9-2 RMAC

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
Colorado Mesa CMU	40	35	75
Fort Lewis FLC	32	36	68

Summary
Box Score

JoJo Lutz, Fort Lewis Athletic Communications

Akuel Kot (22) sinks a trey in front of two defenders.

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | 1/20/2023 11:07:00 PM | Hayden Mangan, Athletic Communications Assistant

No. 23 Mavericks edge No. 12/16 Skyhawks in first home loss of the season

DURANGO, Colo. – Even while forcing a season-high 24 turnovers from the opposition, the twelfth-ranked Fort Lewis College men's basketball team (15-2, 9-2 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) simply could not stop Colorado Mesa, falling to the twenty-third-ranked Mavericks (15-3, 10-2 RMAC) 75-68 in an electric Whalen Gymnasium Friday night.

"I just thought Mesa was coached better, played better, and was tougher than us," head coach Bob Pietrack stated. "I'm really proud of our guys. I do think we showed a lot of fight. We got hit pretty good being down 23-5, and we were able to cut it all the way down to three near the end. Disappointed to lose, but it's part of the journey so we just have to regroup and get ready to play tomorrow."

Colorado Mesa was firing on all cylinders from tip-off, stifling the Skyhawks and running out to an early 25-7 lead: its largest of the night.

Fort Lewis, now with its back against the wall, fought back instead of buckling. The Skyhawks went on a 14-2 run to close the gap, capped off with a huge put-back dunk from Sekou Dembele to cut the deficit to six.

Colorado Mesa would not falter, and even after committing 14 of the teams 24 total turnovers in the opening half, held the momentum and a 40-32 lead at halftime.

The Skyhawks began to find holes in the Mavs defense in the second half, outscoring the Mavericks 36-35 across the final twenty minutes. Akuel Kot breathed life into FLC in the second half, scoring seven consecutive points on the floor by way of two step-back jump shots and a pair of free throws following another Mavs turnover.

Fort Lewis found itself trailing by as many as 14 points once more in the second off, but nearly brought it all the way back as a wide-open lane gifted Brendan La Rose a free slam dunk to keep the Skyhawks in it 69-66 with 1:48 remaining.

Kot sank the final basket for a pair of points, but key defensive stops and offensive scores by the Mavericks secured the win for the invaders from Grand Junction, Colo., 75-68.

Kot led all scorers tonight with 22 points alongside six steals and four assists. While Blaise Threatt led Colorado Mesa with 21 points, it was Trevor Baskin with the leading performance for the Mavs. The six-foot-nine forward tallied 17 points and nabbed 15 rebounds for a double-double: Baskin's fifth of the season.

The Mavericks out-shot Fort Lewis across the board, 50.9% (28-55) to 36.5% (23-63) from the floor and 31.6% (6-19) to 20% (5-25) at the three-point line. Mesa also outrebounded the Skyhawks 44-27 while FLC won the turnover battle 10 to 24.

NOTABLES
-Tonight's 24 turnovers by Colorado Mesa is the highest by a Skyhawks opponent this season.
-Akuel Kot set a new career-high with six steals tonight, matched his season-high with 37 minutes played tonight, and had his 11th game with 20 or more points this season.
-Tonight was just the second time this season Fort Lewis was held to only two players to finish with double-digit points and the third this season with two or fewer players to finish with double-digit points.

NEXT UP
Fort Lewis is right back in action tomorrow, Saturday, Jan. 21, at home in Whalen Gymnasium. The Skyhawks will welcome the Westminster Griffins (6-12, 5-7 RMAC) for a 7:00 p.m. start time. The two teams met previously back on Dec. 17, 2022, when the Griffins handed FLC its first loss of the season 93-79 led by Trey Farrer's 17-point performance.

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