Fort Lewis FLC 13-6,7-3 RMAC

UC-Colo. Springs UCCS 11-7,5-5 RMAC

Fort Lewis FLC

13-6,7-3 RMAC

Final

Jan. 25, 2025

UC-Colo. Springs UCCS

11-7,5-5 RMAC

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
Fort Lewis FLC	35	52	87
UC-Colo. Springs UCCS	44	40	84

Summary
Box Score

Kaitlyn Silva

Chuol Deng (11) drives downhill against the Hardrockers in Whalen Gymnasium (Jan. 16, 2025).

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | 1/25/2025 6:15:00 PM | Hayden Mangan, Assistant AD-Communications & Fan Engagement

Deng, Johnson combine for 56 points as Skyhawks stun Mountain Lions, 87-84

Allen’s miraculous magic seals gritty victory

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Chuol Deng went for a career-high 30 points, and Biko Johnson scored another 26 points to lead Fort Lewis (13-6, 7-3 RMAC) to a 52-point second-half performance and ultimately, a gritty 87-84 come-from-behind victory over UCCS (11-7, 5-5 RMAC) in the final seconds over in the Gallogly Events Center.

"We were flustered with their zone for much of the game and couldn't get many team shots," head coach Jordan Mast shared postgame. "But a huge credit to Deng and Johnson for making great individual plays that kept us in the game. We adapted and adjusted much better in the second half, but I'm really proud of the entire lineup. 20 forced turnovers, 14 steals, and 15 offensive rebounds: that's a fantastic team effort."

Deng notched the 10^th 30-point performance in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference this season on 12-of-20 shooting (60 percent) from the field, including a critical 4-of-7 (57.1 percent) mark from the three-point line. Johnson backed Deng with another 26 points, his sixth 20-point outing of the year, shooting 9-for-15 (60 percent) from the floor and a lethal 6-of-9 (66.7 percent) from deep. In addition, Deng and Johnson combined for all but two of Fort Lewis' 35 first-half points.

UCCS, after going off for 44 points on 68.2 percent (15-22) in the opening half, stayed hot out of the locker room and ran off to a 15-point lead, its largest of the game, on a three-pointer from Hannes Saar with just over 16 minutes remaining in the contest. The Skyhawks, relying on out-rebounding the Mountain Lions 19-11 in the second half while forcing nine of its 20 total turnovers, managed to force three ties, including a 78-78 stalemate with 3:29 seconds left to play.

After free throws put UCCS ahead 82-81 with 23 seconds left, Tru Allen, in a miraculous 11.2-second stretch, forced back-to-back turnovers on the baseline while twice finishing tough at the rim to suddenly put the Skyhawks in front 85-82 with 11 seconds remaining and ultimately secure the win.

UCCS was led by redshirt sophomore Derik Pranger who went for a career-high 28 points, shooting 10-of-15 (66.7 percent) from the field and 3-of-7 from deep. Pranger was one of four Mountain Lions to finish in double figures alongside Saar and Jezza McKenzie who had 16 points each, and William Becker with the final 14 points.

The Mountain Lions out-shot the Skyhawks 56.3 percent (27-48) to 47.9 percent (34-71) from the field and 88 percent (22-25) to 50 percent (8-16) at the free throw line, while Fort Lewis managed to edge UCCS 42.3 percent (11-26) to 38.1 percent (8-21) from beyond the arc.

Notes
-Fort Lewis bounced back from a road loss to UCCS last season and now leads the Mountain Lions 40-14 all-time and 16-10 in Colorado Springs, Colo.
-Chuol Deng set new career highs in points scored (30), field goals made (12), field goal attempts (20), and tied his career-high with four made three-point field goals. Deng's performance also marks just the 10^th 30+ point performance in the RMAC this season.
-Biko Johnson finished one point shy of his season-high but notched his sixth 20+ point
performance and fifth 25+ points performance of the year.
-The Skyhawks have forced 20+ turnovers in four of its last five games and have made 10 or more steals in 10 straight games.
-Tru Allen and Biko Johnson led the Skyhawks with four steals each.
-AJ Riggs recorded his first career blocked shot.
-Keither Florence led Fort Lewis and finished one shy of his career-high with six rebounds.

Up Next
Fort Lewis has its toughest test of the season on deck next week as the Skyhawks travel to No. 7/6 Colorado School of Mines (15-3, 9-1 RMAC) on Thursday, Jan. 30, for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off before heading to No. 13/11 MSU Denver (14-4, 8-2 RMAC) for a 3 p.m. contest on Saturday, Feb. 1.

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