Black Hills St. BHSU 22-2,16-2 RMAC

Fort Lewis FLC 22-2,16-2 RMAC

Black Hills St. BHSU

22-2,16-2 RMAC

Final

Feb. 13, 2023

Fort Lewis FLC

22-2,16-2 RMAC

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
Black Hills St. BHSU	31	47	78
Fort Lewis FLC	55	33	88

Summary
Box Score

JoJo Lutz, Fort Lewis Athletic Communications

Junior Garbrah (3) elevates down the lane for the score.

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | 2/13/2023 10:38:00 PM | Hayden Mangan, Athletic Communications Assistant

No. 10/12 Skyhawks upset No. 3/3 Black Hills State in Whalen Gymnasium

DURANGO, Colo. – The tenth-ranked Fort Lewis College men's basketball team scored 55 points in the first half alone, stifling Black Hills State and holding back the third-ranked Yellow Jackets for a pivotal 88-78 win at home Monday night.

The Skyhawks hand the Yellow Jackets their second loss of the season, bringing both programs to 22-2 overall and 16-2 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play. Tonight's win lifts the Skyhawks to 2-0 against National Association of Basketball Coaches Top-5 ranked opponents and 2-1 against NABC Top-25 opponents this season. Additionally, Fort Lewis snaps a five-game winning streak for the Yellow Jackets over the Skyhawks.

"Two excellent teams playing tonight and we hit them with a pretty good punch in the first half," head coach Bob Pietrack stated. "Whalen Gymnasium is a historic venue in Division II college basketball and that's as big of a regular season win as we've ever had. We also have to understand that we now have to come back and go to their place where they've been almost unbeatable."

Black Hills State won the opening tip-off, but an offensive foul by Sindou Cisse gave Fort Lewis the ball right back. Dunnell Stafford hit a mid-range jump shot for the 2-0 lead, and the Skyhawks never looked back, owning the lead for the entirety of the game.

Fort Lewis had a phenomenal first half, shooting a combined 69.7 percent from the field and 55.6 percent from the three-point line. The Skyhawks grabbed 17 of the team's 34 total rebounds while also forcing seven of Black Hills State's 12 total turnovers. As the Yellow Jackets struggled to create offensive momentum, FLC entered halftime with a 55-31 advantage.

Brenden Boatwright opened the second half with back-to-back scores, making a layup down low and finding nothing but net with his fifth three-point jump shot of the season for a 29-point lead – the largest of the night for Fort Lewis – 60-31.

The Yellow Jackets would not concede, however, and as shots began to fall Black Hills State finally cut the lead to under 20 (18) with 10:22 left to play on a three-pointer from Caelin Hearne.

As time ran down the Yellow Jackets turned to fouls in order to keep its hopes alive, but Fort Lewis would not falter, not allowing Black Hills State to pull any closer than within eight points to complete the upset.

Black Hills State's Joel Scott led all scorers with 26 points tonight. Scoring his 16^th point of the game with a layup, Scott set the all-time BHSU scoring record. Kot was one of five Skyhawks to finish in double figures, scoring 21 points while Stafford provided another 17, JaQuaylon Mays and Brenden Boatwright 12 each, and Obi Agbim another ten.

NOTABLES
-The Skyhawks 55 points in the first half was the most allowed by BHSU this season.
-Fort Lewis is now 6-0 this season when five players finish in double figures.
-Fort Lewis is now 2-0 against NABC Top-5 opponents and 2-1 against NABC Top-25 opponents this season.
-The Skyhawks snap Black Hills State's five-game winning streak over FLC.
-Fort Lewis secured its first win over an NABC Top-5 or Top-25 ranked opponent at home since defeating no. 9 Metropolitan State University of Denver 68-64 back on Feb. 20, 2015.
-Akuel Kot notched his 16^th game this season with 20 or more points.
-JaQuaylon Mays now has 55 rebounds over his last seven games, a 7.9 per-game average.

NEXT UP, ROUND TWO
The Skyhawks and Yellow Jackets will get just three days of rest before squaring off once more, this time in Spearfish, South Dakota. Fort Lewis will take on Black Hills State this Friday, Feb. 17, at 7:00 p.m. at the Donald E. Young Center. The Skyhawks will then play South Dakota School of Mines and Technology (8-16, 7-11 RMAC) the following Saturday, Feb. 18, at 6:00 p.m.

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