West Tex. A&M WTAMU 9-2,4-1 Lone Star

Fort Lewis FLC 8-5,2-2 RMAC

West Tex. A&M WTAMU

9-2,4-1 Lone Star

Final

Dec. 20, 2024

Fort Lewis FLC

8-5,2-2 RMAC

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
West Tex. A&M WTAMU	33	36	69
Fort Lewis FLC	35	41	76

Summary
Box Score

Hayden Mangan, Fort Lewis Athletic Communications

Biko Johnson (5) dribbles down the lane against the Eagles in the George W. Jenkins Field House (Nov. 3, 2024)

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | 12/20/2024 3:01:00 PM | Hayden Mangan, Assistant AD-Communications & Fan Engagement

Johnson’s career day powers Skyhawks past the No. 8/4 Buffaloes, 76-69

Jordan Mast earns first win over a nationally ranked opponent

DURANGO, Colo. – Biko Johnson starred down one of the best programs in NCAA Division II for 35 minutes, never wavering, and put up a career-high 27 points to power Fort Lewis (8-5, 2-2 RMAC) to a climatic 76-69 victory over No. 8/4 West Texas A&M (9-2, 4-1 LSC) in Whalen Gymnasium in front of a crowd of 1,751 to close out the 2024 calendar year.

"The guys are starting to really buy into what we're preaching, the effort level required to be successful, and they put together a team win," head coach Jordan Mast shared. "Biko had a fantastic game, took a lot of the shots we wanted him to take, and it was just his night. I'm really proud of [Johnson], proud of the guys; we've said that our goal is to win the RMAC, and winning these types of games shows us we can do that."

Fort Lewis outshot West Texas A&M 40.4 percent (21-52) to 38.8 percent (26-67) from the field and 36.8 percent (7-19) to 33.3 percent (8-24) from deep. Despite being outrebounded 39-36, the Skyhawks managed to win the turnover battle 18-16 while committing 18 fouls to WT's 27, which allowed FLC to capitalize for 27 points at the free throw line in 32 attempts, a mark that's good for a season-high 84.4 percent for Fort Lewis at the charity stripe.

Johnson was 13-of-15 (86.7 percent) at the line for Fort Lewis and added another 14 points on two three-pointers and four buckets from the floor. Johnson also had game-highs with five assists and five steals while blocking one shot and pulling down eight rebounds. Chuol Deng edged Johnson with a game-high nine rebounds and supplied another 14 on a 6-6 day at the free throw line with a pair of treys. Tru Allen tallied 11 points to round out the Skyhawks to finish in double figures.

The Skyhawks held West Texas A&M's Ahamed Mohammed to ten points, nine points shy of his season average heading into the game, on 4-of-12 shooting (33.3 percent) and a team-high six turnovers. Sophomore Noah Pagotto led the Buffs with 19 points on 7-of-16 clip (43.8 percent) from the field with a pair of treys to finish in double figures for the tenth time this season.

Friday afternoon's thriller saw 14 ties and 15 lead changes throughout the contest. WT ran off to a 22-11 lead on a three-pointer from Kemper Jones, but FLC fought back to a 29-28 advantage on a trey off the hands of AJ Riggs before ultimately heading into halftime with a narrow 35-33 lead. Neither side pulled ahead by any more than a single possession throughout the second half, and it was Fort Lewis who held the Buffs scoreless for the final 1:14 seconds of action while making four trips to the line to capture Mast's first-ever win over a top 10 or ranked opponent as a Skyhawk.

Postgame Notes
-Fort Lewis still trails West Texas A&M 8-3 in the series all-time but ties the series 2-2 and gives the Skyhawks back-to-back wins in Whalen Gymnasium.
-The Skyhawks cap the 2024 calendar
-The win marks the first over a ranked and top 10 opponent for head coach Jordan Mast. It's the program's first win over a top 10 opponent since defeating No. 10 Colorado School of Mines 73-63 last season (Feb. 2).
-Biko Johnson's 27 points mark a career-high at the NCAA level. The senior twice scored 30 points while with Western Nebraska Community College. Johnson has also finished in double figures in 12 straight games.
-Biko Johnson made a season-high five steals and has now made five or more assists and pulled down five or more rebounds in each of the last three games.
-Chuol Deng finished one rebound shy of a double-double and his 14 points put him in double figures for the third consecutive game. Deng also has 30 rebounds over the same stretch.
-Tru Allen registered 11 points to score in double figures for the fourth-straight game and the tenth time overall this season.

Up Next
Fort Lewis now looks to its Native American Heritage Games powered by NABI on Jan. 4. The Fort Lewis Skyhawks will host the visiting Skyhawks from Navajo Technical University (1-10-1) at the Sun Ute Community Center over in Ignacio, Colo., for a doubleheader starting at 5:30 p.m.

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