No. 15 men’s basketball rights the ship with commanding win over Eastern New Mexico

Fort Lewis FLC 1-1,0-0 RMAC

Eastern N.M. EastNM 1-1,0-0 Lone Star

Fort Lewis FLC

1-1,0-0 RMAC

Final

Nov. 11, 2023

Eastern N.M. EastNM

1-1,0-0 Lone Star

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
Fort Lewis FLC	33	49	82
Eastern N.M. EastNM	34	28	62

Summary
Box Score

ENMU Athletics

Obi Agbim (5) used every tool at his disposal tonight with 18 points, six rebounds, four assists, two steals, and a block.

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | 11/11/2023 10:29:00 PM | Hayden Mangan, Assistant Director of Athletic Communications

No. 15 men’s basketball rights the ship with commanding win over Eastern New Mexico

PORTALES, N.M. – Brayden Carter's 11-point, 15-rebound double-double highlights four Skyhawks to finish in double figures, but it was a monstrous 49-point second half that lifted the 15^th-ranked Fort Lewis College men's basketball team (1-1) to its first win of the season over Eastern New Mexico University (1-1) 82-62 in the South-Central Regional Crossover finale.

"Eastern is not just a good team, but a very good home team," head coach Bob Pietrack commented. "Losing game one in a two-game week, our backs were against the wall. Brayden is such a great player though; he's experienced and brings a strong scoring factor that's helped us the last two nights. Overall, I'm proud of the focus and execution our guys brought all day today, it's hard to do on the road, and it helped us grab a big win that we need for where we're trying to be later in the season."

Obi Agbim led the Skyhawks through a punch-for-punch first half as both sides seemingly had an answer for every bucket. Agbim, totaling 13 of his 18 total points in the opening half, limited ENMU's leads to as high as three points while assisting Fort Lewis to a pair of four-point leads of its own before free throws gave the Greyhounds a one-point advantage heading into halftime.

Once more in the second half, it was Eastern New Mexico who burst out of the gates to reclaim the lead thanks to a pair of open lanes on fast breaks. Jhei-R Jones drilled a three-pointer to force the 44-44 draw, and the Skyhawks never looked back. Tristan Hurdle and Malik Whitaker each racked up twelve points in the second half as FLC knocked down nine of twelve shots from beyond the arc to pull away from the Greyhounds. Hurdle went on to finish the game with 15 points, three rebounds, and a block while Whitaker added three assists, a steal, and two rebounds to his line.

Carter was a consistent force on both ends of the court across the evening, splitting his points scored five-to-six and rebounds seven-to-eight across both halves. As a unit, the Skyhawks dominated the Greyhounds on boards 45-to-29.

While Fort Lewis only out-shot Eastern New Mexico 41.4 percent to 38.6 percent from the floor, FLC finished the night 12-for-23 (52.2%) from beyond the arc while making 22 of its 27 free throw attempts.

Three Greyhounds finished in double-figures led by Greg Johnson's 11-point, four-assist performance and aided by Jahcoree Ealy and Mario Whitley's 10-point performances.

Notables
-Carter's double-double was his first in a Skyhawk uniform and the third of his career.
-Agbim and Carter have posted back-to-back double-digit scoring performances.
-Fort Lewis moves to 15-8 all-time against Eastern New Mexico.
-Dating back to last season, the Skyhawks have won eight straight road games and are 20-3 dating back through 2021.
-The Skyhawks' 12 three-point shots made tonight are equal to or more than all but four single-game performances by FLC last season.

Home Opener
Fort Lewis makes its 2023-24 debut in Whalen Gymnasium next week as the Skyhawks hosted Eastern New Mexico and Western New Mexico University (0-2) for the annual Skyhawks Hardwood Classic on Nov. 17 and 18. In addition, fellow Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference member Adams State University (2-0) will also play a pair of neutral floor games against the same opponents.

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