The nationally ranked Fort Lewis College men’s basketball team is back in action this weekend and there’s no time to shake off holiday rust.
The newly 20th-ranked Skyhawks will ring in the new year with a tough test as two of the RMAC’s top teams will invade Whalen Gymnasium this weekend. UC-Colorado Springs (7-5, 4-1 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) and Metro State (6-5, 4-1 RMAC) played for the RMAC Championship last March and are neck-and-neck atop the conference’s Rocky Division this season. Meanwhile, Fort Lewis is second behind New Mexico Highlands (6-5, 5-0 RMAC) in the Mountain Division.
After a much needed holiday break, the rested Skyhawks will have to be sharp to improve on their 9-1 mark, which is the most wins they’ve had in program history before the holiday break.
“Looking back on the start of the season, we did a lot of good things, but there’s still room for improvement,” Fort Lewis head coach Bob Pietrack said in a phone interview with The Durango Herald. “It’s such a tough conference schedule that you can’t spend a lot of time looking at what’s already been done. We have to focus on the next game.”
Friday’s rare afternoon matchup with UC-Colorado Springs will begin at 2 p.m. The Skyhawks will tip off with Metro State at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
After a tough start to the season, UC-Colorado Springs ended 2015 on a high note. The Mounatain Lions closed out the year winning six of their last seven games with four consecutive victories coming against RMAC opponents after losing the conference opener to Metro State.
If the Skyhawks want to take care of business Friday afternoon, they’ll have to keep leading scorer Alex Welsh in check. The senior forward is sixth in the conference in scoring with a 19.8 average and can beat opponents in a variety of ways. Dalton Patton and Kendall Godley are also averaging in double figures for a team that averages 79.9 points per game.
“They’re a very balanced team, so we can’t just key in on one guy,” Pietrack said. “We know what Alex Welsh can do. He’s been an elite player in this conference for awhile, and he’s such a versatile player that it’ll take a full team effort to stop him.”
A full team effort on the defensive end is what Pietrack has been seeing out of his guys nightly thus far. The Skyhawks have shut down some of the conference’s top scorers already this season.
Statistically, the only RMAC team that plays better defense than Fort Lewis is Metro State.
The Roadrunners went into the break on a three-game winning streak after beating Colorado Mesa, Chadron State and Regis. They already registered a 69-66 home win against the Mountain Lions in the RMAC opener. Their only conference blemish was a 70-67 loss to Westminster in Salt Lake City.
Though the Roadrunners lead the RMAC with an average of 65.1 points against per game, they have trouble putting the ball in the basket themselves. A rarity for the perennial powerhouse.
Senior guard Tony Dobbinson leads the team with 13.4 points per game and is the only Metro State player among the RMAC’s top 40 scorers. With an average of 65.8 points scored, they rank last in the conference.
That’s where the Skyhawks can take advantage.
Fort Lewis ranks second in points against with an average of 68.9 per game, but also sits in the top five in points scored. The Skyhawks average of 81 points per game is less than two points behind conference leader CSU-Pueblo.
Fort Lewis (9-1, 4-1 RMAC) has a stranglehold on the RMAC’s best overall record.
Rasmus Bach’s 16.1 points per game lead a FLC team that has four players averaging in double figures. Joshua Blaylock (15.5), Cade Kloster (13) and Will Morse (13) have supplied the offensive punch while Blaylock has become a premier shutdown defender at the other end of the floor.
Morse’s instant offense off the bench has led a Skyhawks second unit that doesn’t just come in and give the starters a rest. Kody Salcido, Kofi Josephs, Morse and company give the Skyhawks a great deal of depth and versatility in their lineups.
“For us, it’s about daily improvement on the court and in the classroom for each of our guys,” Pietrack said. “We have to keep working because winning is never permanent and neither is losing.”
jfries@durangoherald.com