No. 20 Skyhawks welcome Eagles for non-conference bout

11/26/2023 12:30:00 PM

By: Hayden Mangan, Assistant Director of Athletic Communications

DURANGO, Colo. – Skyhawks basketball returns to the hardwood this week as the 20^th-ranked Fort Lewis men's basketball team (3-1) is scheduled to host Northern New Mexico College (1-10) for a single non-conference game on Monday.

Game Information
Monday, Nov. 27 | 7:00 p.m.
vs. Northern New Mexico
Durango, Colo. | Whalen Gymnasium
Watch | Live Stats | Tickets

Last Time Out
The Skyhawks are coming off a week of much-deserved rest following two electric wins over Western New Mexico University (2-3) and Eastern New Mexico University (2-2) at home the week prior. Fort Lewis showed its teeth on defense against the Mustangs, forcing 23 turnovers and holding WNMU to shooting 36.2 percent as the Skyhawks soared off with an 87-68 victory on the back of 50.8 percent shooting from the floor.

Against Eastern New Mexico, however, the Skyhawks demonstrated grit after holding the Greyhounds to 24 points in the opening half before a second-half surge took the game to the buzzer. With ten seconds left, Obi Agbim dished the ball to Junior Garbrah out on the wing before driving to the basket and elevating with his right hand to lay the ball up and in as time expired to capture FLC's sixth-straight win over ENMU and second at the buzzer in the last two seasons.

Block City
Junior transfer Brayden Carter is fitting in quite nicely in his inaugural season with the Skyhawks. A six-foot-nine forward from Regis University, Carter has already posted three career-high performances including 15 rebounds at Eastern New Mexico back on Nov. 11 and back-to-back marks of three and four blocks against WNMU and ENMU, respectively. Carter's performance two weeks ago garnered him Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Week. Also, Carter is averaging 12.0 points and 7.3 rebounds per game and has not scored below 11 points in any contest this season.

Scouting the Eagles
Northern New Mexico enters Monday's game as no stranger to Division II basketball as the Eagles have played five games against DII programs and a pair of games against Division I foes. NNMC's lone win of the season came on the road at Oklahoma City University by a 72-66 margin. Joziah Ramos led the Eagles in the contest with a dominant 25-point, five-rebound, and three-steal performance as the only Northern New Mexico player to finish in double figures. NNMC also out-shot OCU 46.3-to-38.5 percent while also leading on boards 44-32.

Conference Race
Fort Lewis is primed to begin its race through the RMAC portion of its schedule as the Skyhawks open league play this Friday, Dec. 2, at Western Colorado University (2-3) at 5:00 p.m.

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