Fort Lewis College Athletics

Obi Agbim vs. CSU Pueblo, RMAC Tournament Quarterfinals - Mar. 5, 2024

Kaitlyn Silva

Obi Agbim (5) with the stare down after a heat-check three against CSU Pueblo in the RMAC Tournament Quarterfinals in Whalen Gynasium and Durango Colo., on Mar. 5, 2024.

No. 6 Skyhawks gear up for rematch with No. 21 Orediggers in RMAC Tournament Semifinals

3/7/2024 12:00:00 PM

By: Hayden Mangan, Assistant Director of Athletic Communications

DURANGO, Colo. – For the second straight year the RMAC Tournament Championship will go through Grand Junction, Colo., but this time, it's No. 21-ranked Colorado School of Mines (24-7) that stands as the first roadblock that No. 6-ranked Fort Lewis College (26-3) must overcome in its quest for back-to-back tournament titles.

Game Information
Friday, Mar. 8 | 7:30 p.m.
vs. No. 21/RV Mines
Grand Junction, Colo. | Brownson Arena
Watch ($) | Live Stats | Tickets
Tournament Central | Tournament Bracket
FLC Game Notes

NCAA Tournament
Fort Lewis has held the second seed in each of the NCAA's South-Central Regional Rankings which highlight the predicted field for the NCAA Tournament. The Skyhawks trail only West Texas A&M (26-3) who has held the top spot for back-to-back weeks. The third through seventh spots remain unchanged with Dallas Baptist (24-4) in front followed by Colorado Mesa (26-3) in fourth, Mines (24-7) in fifth, Eastern New Mexico (19-9) in sixth, and Lubbock Christian (21-9) in seventh. Angelo State (19-9) has jumped into eighth with MSU Denver (19-9) and Cameron (17-11) currently sitting as the first two teams out.

Last Saturday
The Skyhawks and Orediggers clashed in Golden, Colo., in last Saturday's regular-season finale and Mines emerged the victors, 70-65. Fort Lewis struggled, surrendering 16 turnovers, and shooting 36.5 percent (23-63) for the contest to tie the program's lowest single-game shooting clip over the past two seasons.

Obi Agbim and Brayden Carter, recently named First-Team and Second-Team All-RMAC selections, respectively, led the way with 16 points each while Junior Garbrah, also a Second-Team All-RMAC honoree, was the only other Skyhawk to finish in double figures with 11 points. Majok Deng led four Orediggers in double-figures with an 18-point, three-rebound outing.

Scouting the No. 21 Orediggers
Mines has been the best defensive squad in the conference all season limiting opponents to 69.4 points per game on an allowed 43.0 percent field goal percentage. Offensively, CSM ranks seventh in the conference scoring 77.9 points per game for an 8.5-point margin: good third-best in the RMAC.

Deng, named First-Team All-RMAC a day ago, headlines the offense as the only Oredigger to average double-digit scoring with 17.0 points per game coupled with an average of 3.5 rebounds. Alex Romack, named the league's Freshman of the Year, is averaging an outstanding 9.2 points while hauling in a team-high 6.9 rebounds per game.

Championship Matchup
Survive and advance is the name of the game in March, and if the Skyhawks advance to the RMAC Tournament Championship they would face the winner of Friday's 5:00 p.m. game featuring top-seeded and No. 5-ranked Colorado Mesa (26-3) and fourth-seeded Black Hills State (17-12). The championship game is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, Mar. 9, inside Brownson Arena.

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