Fort Lewis College Athletics

MBB National Rankigns Graphic, Samier Kinsler - Feb. 6, 2024

Men’s basketball sets program record, rises to No. 3 in latest coaches poll

2/6/2024 11:59:00 AM

By: Hayden Mangan, Assistant Director of Athletic Communications

DURANGO, Colo. – For the first time in program history, the Fort Lewis College men's basketball team has climbed to No. 3 on the National Association of Basketball Coaches Top 25 Coaches Poll while simultaneously reaching No. 13 on the Division II College Sports Communicators Media Top 25 Poll.

Fort Lewis earned its stripes last weekend as the Skyhawks (19-2, 14-1 RMAC) defeated previously 10^th-ranked Colorado School of Mines (19-4, 13-2 RMAC) 73-63 to earn its second win over a Top 10 opponent in as many weeks. FLC then followed it up with a gritty 83-67 win over MSU Denver (13-7, 7-7 RMAC) – the only team to defeat current No. 1 West Texas A&M (20-1, 14-0 LSC) – to close out the weekend.

The Skyhawks are the highest-ranked team in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and second highest in the south-central region trailing only West Texas A&M who has claimed the top spot three weeks in a row. As a unit, Fort Lewis ranks 29^th in offense (85.0), 6^th in scoring margin (15.4), 16^th in turnovers forced (17.67), 10^th in turnover margin (6.0), and 9^th in bench scoring (39.0) across NCAA Division II.

Colorado Mesa (17-3, 13-1 RMAC) is back at No. 10 while Mines falls to No. 17. Dallas Baptist (18-2, 12-2 LSC) trails FLC at No. 4 while Lubbock Christian (16-6, 11-3 LSC) is receiving votes to round out the south-central region on the coaches poll.

As for the D2CSC poll, Fort Lewis moves up to No. 13 to lead all conference programs while Colorado Mesa checks in at No. 17 and Mines No. 22. West Texas A&M and Dallas Baptist lead the south-central region at No. 1 and No. 5, respectively.

In the latest regional standings provided by the D2CSC, Fort Lewis ranks third in the south-central trailing only West Texas A&M in first and Dallas Baptist in second. Colorado Mesa and Mines are just behind the Skyhawks in fourth and fifth while Eastern New Mexico (14-6, 10-4 LSC), Lubbock Christian, and Angelo State (15-6, 10-5 LSC) round out the sixth through eighth spots, respectively.

Fort Lewis continues its program record of now 26 consecutive weeks on the NABC poll while simultaneously capturing just its fifth-ever ranking inside the Top 5.

The Skyhawks are on the road this Friday, Feb. 9, for a lone rematch in Massari Arena with CSU Pueblo (9-11, 5-9 RMAC) at 7:30 p.m.

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