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Skyhawks upset No. 3 Black Hills

FLC takes early lead and never lets it go
Obi Agbim of Fort Lewis College, pictured earlier this season, was one of five Skyhawks who scored double-digit points in the team’s victory over No. 3 Black Hills State on Monday. (Jerry McBride/Durango Herald)

The No. 10-ranked Fort Lewis College men's basketball team scored 55 points in the first half, stifling Black Hills State and holding back the third-ranked Yellow Jackets for a pivotal 88-78 win at home Monday.

With the win, FLC and Black Hills are now tied for first in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference with identical 22-2 overall and 16-2 conference records.

“Two excellent teams playing tonight, and we hit them with a pretty good punch in the first half,” said head coach Bob Pietrack. “Whalen Gymnasium is a historic venue in Division II college basketball, and that's as big of a regular season win as we've ever had. We also have to understand that we now have to come back and go to their place where they've been almost unbeatable.”

Black Hills State won the opening tipoff, but an offensive foul by Sindou Cisse gave Fort Lewis the ball. Dunnell Stafford hit a midrange jump shot for the 2-0 lead, and the Skyhawks never looked back, owning the lead for the entirety of the game.

Fort Lewis had a phenomenal first half and shot 69.7% from the field, including 55.6% from the three-point line. The Skyhawks also forced seven of Black Hills State's 12 total turnovers. As the Yellow Jackets struggled to create offensive momentum, FLC entered halftime with a 55-31 advantage.

Brenden Boatwright opened the second half with back-to-back scores, making a layup and finding nothing but net with his fifth 3-pointer of the season to give FLC a 29-point lead, its largest of the night, 60-31.

The Yellow Jackets would not concede. As shots began to fall, Black Hills State cut the lead to 18 points with 10:22 left to play on a 3-pointer from Caelin Hearne.

As time ran down the Yellow Jackets turned to fouls as they rallied, but Fort Lewis would not falter. The Skyhawks didn’t let Black Hills State to get any closer than eight points to them as they completed the upset.

Black Hills State's Joel Scott led all scorers with 26 points tonight. Scoring his 16th point of the game with a layup, Scott set the all-time BHSU scoring record.

Five Skyhawks finished in double figures offensively. Akuel Kot scored 21 points while Stafford provided 17, JaQuaylon Mays and Brenden Boatwright scored 12 each and Obi Agbim added 10.

The win also lifted the Skyhawks to 2-0 against National Association of Basketball Coaches top-5 ranked opponents and 2-1 against top-25 opponents this season. Additionally, Fort Lewis snaps a five-game winning streak for the Yellow Jackets over the Skyhawks.

Despite strong shooting, FLC women fall short

Facing the league's top defensive team in Black Hills State University, the Fort Lewis College women's basketball team dropped a Monday slate 76-61 despite superior shooting numbers.

Fort Lewis fell to 9-15, 6-12 while BHSU improved to 18-6, 13-5.

Kelsey Sorenson of Fort Lewis College, pictured earlier this season, was named the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference offensive player of the week last week. (Jerry McBride/Durango Herald)

The Skyhawks shot 50% (20-of-40) from the field, the fourth-best mark of the season, compared to a 47.2% (25-of-53) clip for the Yellow Jackets. Fort Lewis was equally efficient from three, draining 10 on a 47.6% mark – second best this year.

The difference in the game was turnovers: the Skyhawks committed 22, resulting in 22 points for the opposition.

Freshman Lanae Billy led all players with 25 points while going 9-of-10 from the field and 5-of-6 from three. The outing was her 10th game with 20 points or more this season. Freshman Kate Gallery came off the bench for eight points, followed by a seven-point, five-rebound night for graduate student Kaitlyn Bell.

Sorenson honored

Junior Kelsey Sorenson was also named the RMAC’s offensive player of the week last week after strong games against Adams State and Western Colorado. Sorenson scored a career-high 31 against the Grizzlies and followed it up with 21 against the Mountaineers.

At the time, Sorenson ranked sixth in the conference in points per game (15.0), fifth in rebounds per game (7.5) and seventh in goal percentage (49.6).

The honor was the first of Sorenson’s FLC career.