Lubbock Christian LCU 19-12,14-8 Lone Star

Fort Lewis FLC 29-3,19-3 RMAC

Lubbock Christian LCU

19-12,14-8 Lone Star

Final

Mar. 11, 2023

Fort Lewis FLC

29-3,19-3 RMAC

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
Lubbock Christian LCU	30	35	65
Fort Lewis FLC	49	48	97

Summary
Box Score

Hayden Mangan, Fort Lewis Athletic Communications

Akuel Kot (22) watching a mid-range jumper fall through the net.

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | 3/11/2023 3:24:00 PM | Hayden Mangan, Athletic Communications Assistant

No. 7/5 Skyhawks roll past Chaparrals into South-Central Regional Semifinals

CANYON, Texas – Akuel Kot went for 31 points, Junior Garbrah supplied 15 more, and JaQuaylon Mays another 14 as the seventh-ranked Fort Lewis College dominated Lubbock Christian University in all facets en route to a 97-65 win and secured a trip to the NCAA South-Central Regional Semifinals tomorrow night.

The Skyhawks, now 29-3, have set the program record for wins in a single season. Head coach Bob Pietrack has now matched Fort Lewis College Hall of Fame Coach Bob Hofman with three NCAA tournament wins. Lubbock Christian finishes its season 19-12.

"We've been preparing all week, but Lubbock was a difficult team to scout," Pietrack shared. "I thought our guys were focused, prepared, and executed exactly what we wanted tonight. And we got a special performance on top of that from Kot."

Fort Lewis advances to take on No. 21/T20 Black Hills State University (26-5) tomorrow night at 4:00 p.m. MST inside the First United Bank Center. The game will be streamed for free on the Lone Star Conference Network with live statistics available as well courtesy of West Texas A&M University Athletics.

Hot off winning the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament to cement this team's place in Fort Lewis history, the Skyhawks showed no signs of slowing down. Lubbock Christian made the opening baskets on a pair of free throws awarded to Rowan Mackenzie, but a pull-up-three-point jump shot from Mays just two possessions later awarded FLC the final lead change of the night, 5-2.

The Skyhawks, who finished 62.1% from the field on the night, held the Chaparrals to just 34.3% across the opening half. Just 9:50 into the first half, Fort Lewis ran off to a double-digit lead thanks to a jump shot from Kot outside of the lane. Later in the half, Kot would fade off the baseline and sink a floater up and over the backboard for a 21-point lead: the Skyhawks' largest of the half.

Heading out of the locker room into the second half, Fort Lewis found another gear the Chaparrals weren't prepared for. Once again free throws sent LCU to the line first, but back-to-back baskets in the paint by Kot and Brenden Boatwright put Fort Lewis ahead 53-33.

Just seven minutes into the second half Boatwright earned a trip to the charity stripe after being fouled in the post, and after knocking down both free throws for ten-straight unanswered points, the Skyhawks notched a 33-point lead, 66-33: the largest of the night.

Lubbock Christian began to show life as three different Chaps hit back-to-back-to-back treys. Harrison Russell followed his teammates up with a pair of trips to the free-throw line, and another three-pointer from Kurt Wegscheider cut the deficit to 21 points: the smallest of the second half.

With 3:38 remaining in the game, Trevor Trost came off of the bench and buried a trey of his own to extend the lead to 92-59, and Fort Lewis cruised through the final minutes to a 97-65 victory.

Kot led all scorers on the night with 31 points while also leading FLC with seven rebounds. Garbrah and Mays rounded out the double-figure performances for Fort Lewis with 15 and 14 points respectively. Harrison led the Chaparrals with 25 points while Mackenzie scored 16 points and Wegscheider 10 to round out double-digit scores for LCU.

NOTABLES
-Tonight's win notches the 29^th for the Skyhawks this season, setting a new program single-season record for total wins.
-Fort Lewis shot 62.1% from the field tonight, notching the 8^th-best single-game shooting performance in program history.
-Akuel Kot scored 31 points tonight to mark his eighth game this season with 30 points or more.
-Head coach Bob Pietrack has tied FLC Hall of Fame Coach Bob Hofman with three NCAA tournament wins.

Print Friendly Version