Fort Lewis FLC 17-2,12-1 RMAC

Westminster (UT) WC-UT 5-14,1-12 RMAC

Fort Lewis FLC

17-2,12-1 RMAC

Final

Jan. 27, 2024

Westminster (UT) WC-UT

5-14,1-12 RMAC

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
Fort Lewis FLC	43	42	85
Westminster (UT) WC-UT	34	32	66

Summary
Box Score

Hayden Mangan, Fort Lewis Athletic Communications

Malik Whitaker (24) scored nine points while dishing out a season-high five assists alongside five rebounds and a steal.

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | 1/27/2024 10:21:00 PM | Hayden Mangan, Assistant Director of Athletic Communications

No. 8 Skyhawks down Griffins 85-66

Fort Lewis moves into tie for first-place in conference standings

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The eighth-ranked Fort Lewis men's basketball team battled through 11 lead changes and 17 turnovers to end its longest road trip of the season with a gritty 85-66 victory over Westminster in Behnken Field House to climb to 17-2 overall, 12-1 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play, and into a tie for first place in the league's standings.

The Griffins fall to 5-14 overall, and 1-12 in league play after taking its eighth loss of the season at home. Fort Lewis out-shot Westminster 54.8 percent (34-62) to 40.0 percent (24-60) from the field to mark FLC's fourth consecutive game shooting a clip of 53.2 percent or better from the floor. The Skyhawks fired off an impressive 44.4 percent (12-27) from beyond the arc against WU's 29.6 percent (8-27).

Neither side could grab hold of the momentum in the early minutes, trading all 11 lead changes through the opening half until Fort Lewis finally broke through with a 21-10 run to close out the half and head into the intermission up by nine points.

Fort Lewis' offense success and defensive pressure carried into the second half resulting in a 16-point advantage at the 15:56 mark on an Obi Agbim jumper. Westminster wouldn't surrender, however, as the home squad drew a pair of turnovers by the Skyhawks and knocked down seven of its next 11 shots to close the gap to five points.

History repeats itself, however, as FLC slammed the door shut with a 25-13 run on 10 of 14 shooting to close out the final half while stymieing WU to only four scores on 17 shots down the stretch.

Although the Skyhawks lost the turnover battle 17-14, the blue and gold remain unbeaten (4-0) when committing more turnovers than its opposition. Most notably, Fort Lewis tallied 40 of its 85 points in the paint to Westminster's 26 while also commanding total rebounds 40-27.

Junior Garbrah went for 20 points, his fourth outing this season scoring 20 or more, on 8 of 14 shooting with four three-pointers, three rebounds, three assists, and a steal. Brayden Carter added 15 points of his own, Jhei-R Jones another 12, and Amondo Miller Jr. the final 10 to round out those with double-figure scoring efforts.

Westminster's Rylan O'Brien registered a game-high 22 points while Trey Wood scored 12 points alongside a team-high six rebounds. Pierce Sterling was the only other Griffin to score in double figures with 11 points on five of eight shooting with a trey.

Notables
-Jhei-R Jones eclipsed 100^th career three-pointers on the night with his 2-3 performance from deep tonight.
-Isaiah Thompson, with his first board of the game, secured his 500^th career rebound.
-Fort Lewis earns the win but still trails Westminster 24-27 in the all-time series, however, the Skyhawks are now 14-7 over the Griffins since 2001 when WU returned its men's basketball program.
-The Skyhawks earn just its third season sweep over the Griffins since 2001.
-Junior Garbrah posted his fourth 20+ point performance of the season.
-Malik Whitaker matched his season-high with five assists which he last set against Westminster in Durango, Colo., back on Dec. 16.
-Four or more Skyhawks finished in double figures for the 10^th time this season; Fort Lewis is undefeated when at least three Skyhawks finish in double digits.
-Fort Lewis' bench, who out-scored Westminster's 30-17, has out-scored opponents in 18 of FLC's 19 games this season.
-Fort Lewis is 17-2 on the road dating back through last season.

See you at home
The Skyhawks now have another top-25 matchup in front of them as the 16^th-ranked Colorado School of Mines Orediggers (18-3, 12-1 RMAC) come to town on Friday, Feb. 2, for a 7:00 p.m. tip-off to decide who will take hold of the first place in the conference standings. MSU Denver (12-6, 6-6 RMAC) will then invade on Saturday, Feb. 3, for a 6:00 p.m. battle with FLC.

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