Chadron St. Chad 9-7,6-4 RMAC

Fort Lewis FLC 14-2,9-1 RMAC

Chadron St. Chad

9-7,6-4 RMAC

Final

Jan. 19, 2024

Fort Lewis FLC

14-2,9-1 RMAC

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
Chadron St. Chad	28	44	72
Fort Lewis FLC	40	48	88

Summary
Box Score

Kaitlyn Silva

Junior Garbrah (3) posted his third 20+ point performance of the season on 66.6 percent shooting from the field.

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | 1/19/2024 11:13:00 PM | Hayden Mangan, Assistant Director of Athletic Communications

Garbrah, Agbim go for 20 each as No. 12 Fort Lewis handles Chadron State 88-72 in Friday night tilt

Skyhawks utilize their highest field goal percentage of the season against Division II opponents to capture ninth conference win

DURANGO, Colo. – Obi Agbim racked up 21 points, Junior Garbrah went for 20 more, and the 12^th-ranked Fort Lewis men's basketball team found its rhythm in front of its largest crowd of the season, 2,335, as the Skyhawks utilized elite shooting and control of the paint to dominate Chadron State (9-7, 6-4 RMAC) 88-72 and move to 14-2 overall and 9-1 in RMAC play.

Fort Lewis commanded the game from the opening tip, running out to a double-digit lead in the first five minutes and leading by as many as 19 points through the opening half. The Skyhawks held CSC to just 10-for-30 (33.33 percent) shooting and out-rebounded the Eagles 24-14 to limit the opposition to only 28 first-half points.

Although the Eagles managed to nearly double its production in the second half – primarily thanks to finding the edge off of the glass 21-18 – it was not enough as Fort Lewis finished the night 56.4 percent (31-55) from the floor and 42.9 percent (9-21) from beyond the arc with 48 second-half points to keep Chadron State at bay.

Agbim totaled 21 points, his third 20+ point performance this season, on 8-of-14 (57.1 percent) shooting including five hits from deep on seven attempts. Garbrah shot a rhythmic 66.6 percent (6-9) from the field while dropping in a pair of three-pointers and leading FLC with six made free throws. In addition, Garbrah (2) and Agbim (3) combined for five of the Skyhawks' 13 assists on the evening: the most by FLC in its past five games.

Brayden Carter was the only other Skyhawk to finish in double figures as the six-foot-nine forward racked up 10 points and a team-leading eight rebounds. Three Eagles finished in double-digits for CSC including Dalton Peterson (18), Bryce Latimer (17) – the conference's leading scorer who averaged 20.1 points per game heading into the game – and Josh Robinson (14).

Fort Lewis commanded nearly every facet of the game and led Chadron State in rebounding (42-35), points in the paint (38-26), fast break points (23-8), and bench points (41-33).

Quotables
"I thought we played with great intensity, great effort; thought our effort was elite. It's just really nice to be back home. Very happy with the distribution for us, I thought we really set the tone defensively in the first ten minutes and hit some shots down the stretch to keep it to where it would never be in danger." – Head Coach Bob Pietrack.

"We did a really good job just dictating how the game would be played. We wanted to play at our pace, our way, and we thought we did. When you get up early, build that lead early, get them playing on the run… just thought it was a total team win for us. As the calendar gets deep into January and then February, every game is starting to matter more and more, and the stakes get higher each time. Every time you go out there it means a lot, and it's going to mean a lot to us tomorrow night." – Pietrack

"You know, at times when you have a team that's deep like [us] you get shot hungry and the coaches just emphasized driving, kicking, and sharing the ball; passing it to get the other guy open not passing it because you have to pass it. That was a big emphasis this weekend and you can see it with our assist totals… I'm just grateful we got the win." – Senior guard Junior Garbrah

"The crowd alone is really exciting to play in front of, I'm really thankful for my teammate's trust in me and kick the ball out to me. And you know, I feel that if they work so hard to get us open, get each other open, I might as well just give them an assist if I can." – Junior guard Obi Agbim

Notables
-Obi Agbim and Junior Garbrah are the first duo this season to break 20 points in a single game for the Skyhawks. Additionally, Agbim and Garbrah have each tallied three 20+ point performances this season.
-Fort Lewis' 13 assists are its most through the past five games.
-The Skyhawks move to 28-10 all-time against Chadron State, have won 17 of the last 18 matchups, and are now 14-4 against the Eagles at home.
-FLC is now 6-0 when three Skyhawks go for double figures and 9-0 when scoring 80 or more points.

Next up, Cougars
Fort Lewis continues its weekend home series tomorrow night with a 6:00 p.m. tip-off against Colorado Christian (8-8, 4-6 RMAC), who is coming off of a nail-biting 82-81 loss at Adams State (4-12, 2-8 RMAC). FLC Athletics and FLC Grub Hub will be conducting a canned food drive and all patrons who bring three or more canned food items to donate will receive free admission.

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