Navajo Tech M-506563 0-7

116

Fort Lewis M-1083 10-1,5-0 RMAC

Navajo Tech M-506563

0-7

Final

Jan. 02, 2024

116

Fort Lewis M-1083

10-1,5-0 RMAC

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
Navajo Tech M-506563	28	39	67
Fort Lewis M-1083	60	56	116

Summary
Box Score

Kaitlyn Silva

Malik Whitaker led six Skyhawks with 17 points to pair with seven rebounds, one block, and a steal.

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | 1/2/2024 8:35:00 PM | Hayden Mangan, Assistant Director of Athletic Communications

Winning ways continue into new year as No. 10/24 Skyhawks cap non-conference with 116-67 win over Navajo Tech

Fort Lewis completes its non-conference schedule with a 5-1 record.

DURANGO, Colo. – Tuesday night provided displays of jaw-dropping offense coupled with relentless defense as six players finished in double figures while the tenth-ranked Fort Lewis men's basketball team handled Navajo Technical University 116-67 to capture the program's tenth-consecutive win ahead of its return to conference play this weekend.

The Skyhawks move to 10-1 on the season while Navajo Tech takes its seventh loss.

Fort Lewis kicked off the evening on a 9-0 run thanks to five straight buckets and never looked back. Shooting 58.2 percent (39-67) from the field on the night, the Skyhawks led by as many as 32 points in the opening half before nearly doubling it with a 53-point lead late in the second.

Defensively, FLC clamped the visiting Skyhawks to 36.9 percent (24-65) shooting across the night while also blocking six shots, making 15 steals – the seventh most in a single game in program history – and forcing 27 turnovers. In the post, FLC dominated NTU 45-31 in total rebounds and nabbed 13 offensive rebounds for 14 second-chance points.

Malik Whitaker led all Skyhawks in double digits with 17 points including a perfect 9-for-9 mark at the charity stripe. Junior Garbrah added another 16 points while tying his career-high with four steals and dishing out a pair of assists. Brayden Carter was the go-to man down low, scoring 15 points and leading the roster with eight rebounds.

Four players for Navajo Tech scored in double figures: Kane Kenyon with 15 points, Albrandon ByJoe with 14, Dontrelle Denesto with 12, and Talon West with the final 11.

11 different players for Fort Lewis tallied 10 or more minutes with 13 total players touching the floor.

Quotable
"Being in the RMAC as long as I have been, the game after the break is scary. You think you're conditioned, but game conditioning is so much different than practice. I'm glad we were able to get a good run in, I thought Navajo Tech played very hard the whole time. We're hitting a stretch where we're going to find out a lot about our team with four-straight on the road in-conference and everyone knows how hard RMAC road games are." – Head coach Bob Pietrack

"The team, we're close. The coaches have been doing a great job helping us put ourselves in great situations and great spots. This team is very selfless and unselfish, it's great to see the distribution and see everyone get on the board, it's only going to propel us forward." – Senior guard Junior Garbrah

Notables
-Fort Lewis' 15 steals tonight is the seventh most in program history in a single game and was last achieved against Evangel on Nov. 28, 2016.
-Garbrah matched his career-high with four steals.
-The Skyhawks have now won ten straight games.
-Fort Lewis has cracked the century mark twice this season while breaking 90 points for the past five games.
-Tonight marks the first time this season that six individuals scored in double figures.

Looking Ahead
Fort Lewis returns to the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference gauntlet this weekend with a Friday/Saturday split in The Mount Rushmore State. The Skyhawks open the weekend with a 7:30 p.m. tip-off at South Dakota Mines (5-7, 3-3 RMAC) on Jan. 5 followed by a 6:00 p.m. contest at Black Hills State (5-6, 3-2 RMAC) on Jan. 6.

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