Colo. Sch. of Mines CSM 24-4,18-4 RMAC

Fort Lewis FLC 25-3,19-3 RMAC

Colo. Sch. of Mines CSM

24-4,18-4 RMAC

Final

Feb. 25, 2023

Fort Lewis FLC

25-3,19-3 RMAC

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
Colo. Sch. of Mines CSM	34	41	75
Fort Lewis FLC	27	37	64

Summary
Box Score

JoJo Lutz, Fort Lewis Athletic Communications

Dunnell "Scottie" Stafford (4) elevating against his defender.

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | 2/25/2023 11:20:00 PM | Hayden Mangan, Athletic Communications Assistant

No. 15/24 Mines spoils senior night 75-64, Skyhawks crowned RMAC Regular Season Co-Champions

DURANGO, Colo. – Stifling defense and a 42-30 rebound advantage lifted 15^th-ranked Colorado School of Mines past fifth-ranked Fort Lewis College 75-64 Saturday night in Whalen Gymnasium. The Skyhawks finished the regular season 25-3 overall and 19-3 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play.

Fort Lewis will be crowned RMAC Regular-Season Co-Champions alongside Colorado Mesa University (24-4) who finished with an identical 19-3 mark in conference play. Since the Mavericks defeated Fort Lewis in Durango, Colo., 75-68 previously this season, the semifinals and championship round of the RMAC Tournament will now go through Grand Junction, Colo.

Mines ends the regular season with a 24-4 overall record and an 18-4 mark in conference competition.

"I thought Mines played wonderful, they're 24-4 for a reason," head coach Bob Pietrack stated. "They just flat-out beat us. We didn't make enough shots, 6-28 just won't get it done. While we tip our hats to Mines tonight, it doesn't take away from our regular season championship and the 25-3 we went, which is beyond outstanding."

The Orediggers stymied Fort Lewis early, holding the Skyhawks to just 33.3% from the floor and 25.0% from beyond the arc in the opening half. Both sides exchanged blows early on, forcing multiple ties until Mines finally pulled ahead 16-14 on a layup from Adam Krasovec.

The Orediggers offense began to find holes in the Skyhawks defense and pull ahead late in the opening half. Krasovec stole the ball from JaQuaylon Mays and knocked down a big three-point jump shot for the 10-point lead, and while Obi Agbim answered with a layup, Krasovec would add a layup of his own the following possession to maintain the lead.

While Fort Lewis made five of its final six baskets of the first half, a technical foul gave Mines a pair of extra free throws to extend the lead to 34-27 heading into halftime.

Adam Thistlewood made the opening basket of the second half on a mid-range jumper, and the Orediggers never looked back. Mines would outscore the Skyhawks 41-37 in the second half while also outrebounding FLC 19-13 and forcing five turnovers.

Colorado School of Mines stretched its lead out to as many as 16-points in the second half, the largest of the night for CSM, and Fort Lewis could not pull any closer than six points following a trey from Akuel Kot with eight minutes remaining in the game.

Kot led all scorers tonight with 24 points. Brenden Boatwright supplied 14 more, Agbim another 12, and Mays 10 to round out the double figures for the Skyhawks. Krasovec led Mines with 20 points and five rebounds, while Adam Thistlewood was the only other Oredigger to finish in double figures with 16 points. Mines had seven different players finish with six or more points in the contest.

Tonight, four seniors played in their final regular season home game in Whalen Gymnasium: Boatwright, Mays, Brendan La Rose, and Dunnell Stafford.

NOTABLES
-Fort Lewis finishes the regular season with a program record of 25 wins through the regular season.
-Head coach Bob Pietrack has led the Skyhawks to three-straight appearances in the RMAC Tournament and six total trips across his eight seasons at the helm of the program. Additionally, Pietrack has guided Fort Lewis to three RMAC Regular Season Champion titles.
-With his 24 points tonight, Akuel Kot has now scored 676 points this season, surpassing Riley Farris' 670-point mark in 2019-20 to move into 3^rd all-time single-season scoring. Kot now trails only Joshua Blaylock's (2016-17) and Alex Herrera's (2014-15) total of 687 in a single season.

RMAC TOURNAMENT QUARTERFINALS
Fort Lewis locked up the two-seed following tonight's loss, pitting the Skyhawks against seventh-seeded Regis University (12-16, 9-13 RMAC) in the opening round of the RMAC Tournament. As a top-four seed, Fort Lewis has earned the right to host the opening-round matchup against the Rangers this upcoming Tuesday, Feb. 28, at 6:00 p.m. inside Whalen Gymnasium.

Fans are encouraged to purchase tickets in advance through the RMAC website HERE. Fort Lewis College students will be granted free admission, but all members of the Skyhawks Club and the public will need to purchase tickets online or at the box office on game day per RMAC policy.

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