Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

Fort Lewis College Athletics

Scoreboard

Jaxon Smith vs. Western New Mexico
Kaitlyn Silva
Jaxon Smith (0) drives to the paint against the Mustangs in Whalen Gymnasium (Nov. 21, 2025)

Men’s hoops look to rebound out on Front Range

12/3/2025 1:00:00 PM

By: Hayden Mangan, Assistant AD-Communications & Fan Engagement
Fort Lewis College at Metropolitan State University of Denver
Thursday, Dec. 4, 7:30 p.m. | Hamilton Gymnasium (University of Denver) | Denver, Colo.
Watch (RMAC Network) | Live Stats | Tickets | FLC Notes
Fort Lewis College at Regis University
Saturday, Dec. 6, 1 p.m. | Regis Field House | Denver, Colo.
Watch (RMAC Network) | Live Stats | Tickets | FLC Notes
DURANGO, Colo. – Fort Lewis men's basketball (2-4) looks to turn the page from its non-conference slate and get back on track with a pair of road trips to Metropolitan State University of Denver (1-5) and Regis University (1-4) to begin Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play.
 
Holiday Hoops
Head coach Jordan Mast took his squad down to the First United Bank Center in Canyon, Texas, last weekend for the West Texas A&M Thanksgiving Classic. The Skyhawks opened the event with a nail-biting 78-77 loss to Angelo State University (8-1), which has received votes on the last two National Association of Basketball Coaches Top 25 polls, before suffering a 105-84 rout at the hands of the now No. 13 nationally ranked West Texas A&M (7-0). Redshirt sophomore Stewart Erhart sure enjoyed the Buffaloes' home court, as the guard racked up 45 points across both games, including a career-high 30 points against top-ranked WTAMU on 11-of-16 shooting with five rebounds, four assists, and two steals.
 
Tough Tests
Fort Lewis has battled through one of the toughest non-conference schedules around, as its five different opponents, including three featured or receiving votes on the national poll, from the Lone Star Conference and within the south-central region, are a combined 31-3 overall, with two of those losses coming at the talons of the FLC. The Skyhawks have found the edge in two of three one-possession games, while opponents have staved off the blue and gold with 20 and 18 three-pointers made in two of their other losses.
 
Early Trends
Through the early going, one statistic stands out most: turnovers. Fort Lewis has found itself on the flipside of its typical high-pressure, high-turnover defense, with the Skyhawks committing 17.5 turnovers per game against 15.3 per game from its opponents; a -2.2 margin. Despite the narrow edge, opponents have capitalized, averaging 22.8 points per game off turnovers while shooting an effective 45.8 percent (170-371) from the field. The Skyhawks have otherwise outrebounded foes by +2.0 with a 36.5 rebound per game average, and shot a confident 46.2 percent (160-346) from the floor and even more lethal 39.4 percent (39-99) from the three-point line.
 
Top Skyhawks
  • Chuol Deng (5th, F) (15.8 ppg, 9.2 rpg, 9 steals, 9 assists, 5 blocks, 44.4% FG percentage, 35.0% 3-FG percentage, 72.7% FT percentage)
  • Stewart Erhart (R-So., G) (15.3 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 10 assists, 8 steals, 55.3% FG percentage, 42.9%% 3-FG percentage, 76.2% FT percentage)
  • Jaxon Smith (R-So., G) (13.7 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 5 assists, 3 steals, 37.9% FG percentage, 42.5% 3-FG percentage, 87.5% FT percentage)
  • Donald Bangham, Jr. (Jr., G) (12.3 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 8 steals, 3 assists, 53.3% FG percentage, 44.4% 3-FG percentage, 64.3% FT percentage)
  • Yorgio Golesis (Jr., G) (11.2 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 20 assists, 9 steals, 43.5% FG percentage, 14.3% 3-FG percentage, 86.7% FT percentage)
 
Scouting MSU Denver
Head coach Dan Ficke has gotten MSU Denver off to a 1-5 start in his fourth season at the helm of the program, with the team's lone win coming by way of a 113-103 shootout against Sul Ross State University (2-3) at home. The Roadrunners have played a full Lone Star non-conference schedule, similar to the Skyhawks, with Eastern New Mexico (5-1) being the lone similar opponent. While FLC edged ENMU 76-73, MSUD was felled by the Greyhounds 78-65. Due to other complications on campus, Thursday's game has also been moved to Hamilton Gymnasium on the campus of the University of Denver. 
 
MSU Denver enters the week with the league's fifth-best offense, just ahead of the Skyhawks, with an average of 81.2 points per game on a team field goal percentage of 45.5 percent. Despite having four players averaging double-digit scoring, MSUD is surrendering 93 points per game on 49.1 percent shooting, marks that rank last and 13th in the league.
 
Top Roadrunners
  • Logan Threatt (Jr., G) (15.6 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 17 assists, 3 steals, 36.8% FG percentage, 34.6% 3-FG percentage, 87.1% FT percentage)
  • Quave Propst-Allison (Sr., G) (15.2 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 13 assists, 11 steals, 2 blocks, 46.6% FG percentage, 43.3% 3-FG percentage, 82.8% FT percentage)
  • Garrett Falls (Jr., G) (14.3 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 10 assists, 3 steals, 1 block, 51.8% FG percentage, 47.4% 3-FG percentage, 67.9% FT percentage)
  • Amare Bethel (R-Fr., G) (12.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 6 assists, 5 steals, 1 block, 45.3% FG percentage, 39.3% 3-FG percentage, 71.4% FT percentage)
  • Adam Hackett (Jr., F) (7.0 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 3 assists, 1 steal, 39.5% FG percentage, 33.3% 3-FG percentage, 75.0% FT percentage)
 
A Glance at Regis
Regis, under the direction of first-year head coach Rex Walters, has gotten off to a 1-4 overall start against Lone Star competition. First, RU suffered back-to-back losses to now No. 9-ranked St. Mary's University (5-0) and No. 4-ranked Lubbock Christian, before earning its first win of the season, 97-93, over University of Texas at Dallas (0-7) at home in Denver.
 
From a bird's-eye view, the Rangers are averaging 69.6 points per game on 46.4 percent shooting, but give up 90.4 points per game on 49.4 percent shooting. Most notably, Regis is pulling down 28.2 rebounds and committing 13.8 turnovers per game, margins that sit at -8.6 and -5.4 per game, respectively.
 
Top Rangers
  • Cooper Frith (Jr., G) (16.7 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 4 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 42.3% FG percentage, 25.0% 3-FG percentage, 86.7% FT percentage)
  • Luke Soden (Fr., G) (14.8 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 6 assists, 4 steals, 4 blocks, 44.7% FG percentage, 40.7% 3-FG percentage, 54.5% FT percentage)
  • Gunner Walters (Sr., G) (10.6 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 32 assists, 1 steal, 51.4% FG percentage, 33.3% 3-FG percentage, 69.2% FT percentage)
  • Aaron Ofstun (Sr., F) (10.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 2 assists, 52.9% FG percentage, 1-for-1 3-FG, 33.3% FT percentage)
  • Myles Shields (So., G) (9.4 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 1 assist, 51.2% FG percentage, 30.0% 3-FG percentage, 40.0% FT percentage)
 
Looking Ahead
Fort Lewis will return to the comforts of Whalen Gymnasium next Tuesday and Saturday for a split weekend of RMAC action up on the rim. The Skyhawks will welcome New Mexico Highlands University (0-7) for its Skyhawks School Spirit Game presented by Nunn Construction on Tuesday, Dec. 9, at 7:30 p.m. before hosting Wolf Creek Pass rival Adams State University (5-2) on Saturday, Dec. 13, at 3 p.m. for its annual Durango Santa game presented by the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad and the Fort Lewis College Foundation.
 
Print Friendly Version