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Fort Lewis College Athletics

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Cassius Carmichael vs. Westminster
Kaitlyn Silva
Cassius Carmichael at the free-throw line against the Griffins in Whalen Gymnasium (Jan. 10, 2026)

Skyhawks head into the hive, challenge No. 13 Yellow Jackets in Friday night RMAC semifinal

3/5/2026 10:00:00 AM

By: Hayden Mangan, Assistant AD-Communications & Fan Engagement
DURANGO, Colo. – The fourth-seeded Fort Lewis College men's basketball team (18-10, 15-5 RMAC) is set to face first-seeded and No. 13 nationally ranked Black Hills State University (25-4, 17-3) on the Yellow Jackets' home court for a second time this season in the 2026 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament Semifinals on Friday, Mar. 6, at 7 p.m. inside the Donald E. Young Center.
 
Where to Watch
For fans traveling to Spearfish, S.D., and the Donald E. Young Center, tickets must be purchased through the RMAC Championship Ticketing Site. Full championship passes must be purchased in advance before arriving on site. Fans at home catch all of the action live on the RMAC Network with a single-day pass, a monthly subscription, or an annual subscription.
 
Soaring Past the Grizzlies
Fort Lewis, backed by its largest student-section of the season on Tuesday night, soared past fifth-seeded Adams State University (18-11, 12-8 RMAC), 88-72, on the back of Stewart Erhart's trio of career-highs, including 32 points, seven steals, and six assists. Cassius Carmichael and Donald Bangham, Jr. scored another 13 points and 10 points, respectively. The Skyhawks dominated the post and pace of play, grabbing 22 steals on 26 forced turnovers for 37 points off turnovers while racking up 56 points in the paint on 48.6 percent shooting. Erhart alone has scored an astounding 55 points between his two appearances in the RMAC Tournament quarterfinals.
 
Round One in the Hive
Black Hills State looked poised to upend the Skyhawks by a strong margin in the two teams' first meeting back on Jan. 17, leading by as many as 19 points early in the second-half before Fort Lewis stormed back and Keither Florence beat the buzzer on a game-winning layup to give FLC a 78-76 victory. The Skyhawks won off the glass, out-rebounding the Yellow Jackets 46-36 while grabbing 10 steals on 17 BHSU turnovers. Four Skyhawks scored in double-figures, led by Erhart's 20-point, seven-rebound night. On the opposite side, Black Hills State shot 43.4 percent for the night on the back of a game-high 25 points from 2024-25 RMAC Freshman of the Year Cam Lowe.
 
Three in the Key
First and foremost, the Skyhawks' high-tempo style will play a pivotal role on Friday night. Fort Lewis ranks seventh in DII, forcing 18.57 turnovers per game, fourth in DII in steals per game with 12.2, and will need to rely on forcing turnovers to overcome Black Hills State's 49.3 percent team shooting percentage, RMAC-leading 10.3 three-point field goals per game, and a league second-best 38.4 percent three-point percentage. In addition to limiting BHSU possessions through turnovers, the Skyhawks will also need to out-score the Yellow Jackets in the post, and win off the glass once more, capitalizing on its league-leading 13.75 offensive rebounds per game, which also ranks 23rd nationally. Fort Lewis' success in the post back in January proved pivotal as the Yellow Jackets went just 8-for-30 (26.7 percent) from beyond the arc.
 
Skyhawks Leaders
  • Stewart Erhart (R-So., G) (17.4 points/game, 4.2 rebounds/game, 3.5 steals/game, 3.5 assists/game, 4 blocks, 44.5% FG percentage, 38.6% 3-FG percentage, 84.8% FT percentage)
  • Jaxon Smith (R-So., G) (14.5 points/game, 2.2 rebounds/game, 33 assists, 24 steals, 37.1% FG percentage, 37.0% 3-FG percentage, 93.7% FT percentage)
  • Donald Bangham, Jr. (Jr., G) (7.9 points/game, 3.3 rebounds/game, 1.4 steals/game, 18 assists, 3 blocks, 44.0% FG percentage, 25.8% 3-FG percentage, 62.1% FT percentage)
  • Massal Diouf (Sr., F) (7.4 points/game, 4.3 rebounds/game, 24 assists, 22 blocks, 8 steals, 56.7% FG percentage, 0-1 3-FG, 59.5% FT percentage)
  • Keither Florence (Sr., F) (7.1 points/game, 4.0 rebounds/game, 28 assists, 15 steals, 15 blocks, 52.3% FG percentage, 0-2 3-FG, 58.0% FT percentage)
 
Black Hills State Down the Stretch
Since Fort Lewis handed Black Hills State one of its four losses on the season in January, the Yellow Jackets have gone 12-1, with a 71-53 loss on the road at CSU Pueblo (Feb. 5) standing as its lone blemish. Most recently, the Yellow Jackets survived an upset bid from eighth-seeded University of Colorado Colorado Springs (15-14, 10-10 RMAC), trailing much of the contest and 41-26 at halftime before storming back to withstand a missed shot by the Mountain Lions at the buzzer, 74-73.
 
Frequent flyers on the National Association of Basketball Coaches Top 25 polls this season, Black Hills State rose to No. 13 on last Tuesday's poll. BHSU ranks 15th in three-pointers per game (10.3), 17th in scoring margin (+13.6), eighth in effective field goal percentage (57.6 percent), eighth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.53), and first in defensive rebounds per game (29.38).
 
Yellow Jackets Leaders
  • Cam Lowe (R-So., G) (17.5 points/game, 6.3 rebounds/game, 2.7 assists/game, 32 steals, 8 blocks, 49.2% FG percentage, 42.1% 3-FG percentage, 90.8% FT percentage)
  • Jaeton Hackley (R-Jr., G) (13.0 points/game, 4.1 rebounds/game, 4.3 assists/game, 27 steals, 1 block, 52.0% FG percentage, 38.8% 3-FG percentage, 81.9% FT percentage)
  • Myles Johnson (R-Sr., G) (11.6 points/game, 4.2 rebounds/game, 1.6 assists/game, 1.4 steals/game, 14 blocks, 55.4% FG percentage, 25.0% 3-FG percentage, 67.9% FT percentage)
  • Tristan Hurdle (R-Sr., G) (9.8 points/game, 1.9 rebounds/game, 23 assists, 3 steals, 1 block, 47.2% FG percentage, 45.7% 3-FG percentage, 78.8% FT percentage)
  • Jack Hagget (So., F) (8.8 points/game, 5.3 rebounds/game, 2.6 assists/game, 31 blocks, 20 steals, 50.6% FG percentage, 25.5% 3-FG percentage, 73.9% FT percentage)
 
Looking Ahead
The winner of Friday night's throw-down will move on to face the winner of second-seeded Colorado Mesa University (20-9, 15-5 RMAC) and third-seeded Colorado State University Pueblo (22-7, 15-5 RMAC) the following night on Saturday, Mar. 7, at 7 p.m. at the Donald E. Young Center. The Mavericks and ThunderWolves will face off in the 5 p.m. time slot on Friday, before the Skyhawks and Yellow Jackets game.
 
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