Fort Lewis College men’s basketball showed its offensive capabilities, without one of its best players, in the Skyhawks’ 88-54 win over South Dakota Mines on Thursday night.
The Skyhawks moved the ball well in the half-court for good looks, got in transition and shot it very well from 3-point range without starting fifth year guard Tru Allen, who was out with hamstring soreness.
South Dakota Mines (SDM) could not get into an offensive rhythm for most of the second half with the Skyhawks’ swarming pressure. FLC finished the game on a 36-12 run to get its first win at home in 2025.
“We took care of the ball,” FLC head coach Jordan Mast said. “We've proved over the season that we turn teams over at a high rate, which is great if you capitalize. Last week, we didn't really capitalize on those turnovers. We gave them the ball back a lot. So when you do that, we kind of drain ourselves. Tonight, we did a great job, with only five turnovers, capitalizing off our turnovers and turning them into points.”
FLC improved to 10-6 overall and 4-3 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference after it shot 55% from the field, 48% from 3-point range and 60% from the free-throw line. The Skyhawks had 17 assists to their five turnovers.
Senior guard Biko Johnson led the Skyhawks with 25 points on 9-15 shooting from the field, 5-8 from 3-point range and 2-2 from the free-throw line in only 24 minutes. Senior forward Chuol Deng had 15 points on 5-11 shooting from the field, 1-4 from 3-point range and 4-6 from the foul line along with eight rebounds.
“We saw their weaknesses and just looked to push the pace and transition and score; score fast, but score efficiently,” Johnson said. “They didn't have the foot speed. We knew we could just tire them out by just pushing the pace all game.”
South Dakota Mines fell to 1-14 overall and 1-6 in the RMAC after it shot 38% from the field, 58% from 3-point range and 70% from the free-throw line.
Keagen Smith led South Dakota Mines with 20 points on 7-13 shooting from the field, 5-7 from 3-point range and 1-1 from the free-throw line.
FLC started the game shooting well from all three levels. The problem was, SDM was too. Deng was aggressive, getting to the free-throw line twice in the first six minutes. Johnson hit two 3-pointers as FLC led 20-15 at the under-12 timeout.
The Skyhawks’ defense started to turn over the Hardrockers with FLC’s active hands and anticipation in the passing lanes. A steal by freshman guard Nathan Penny led to a breakaway slam, which got his teammates off the bench with excitement, to make it 26-15 FLC with 8:50 left in the first.
When SDM broke FLC’s pressure, the Hardrockers hit a few 3-pointers. However, FLC really moved the ball around the perimeter for some catch-and-shoot 3-pointers. Freshman forward Aiden Gibson found himself open in the corner and drained a 3-pointer for a 41-26 lead with 2:26 left in the half.
“It was just a great offensive team game where all our guys came in … everyone was contributing and that's why I love the sport,” Mast said. “I was just telling the guys when we have a great team effort where everyone contributes positively, that's what makes you pull away.”
Gibson has a lot of potential with his floor-stretching ability at 6-foot-8 inches and 217 pounds. In nine previous games, he only hit 14% of his 3-pointers. But he has a nice high release and the form is solid. Gibson hit another 3-pointer before the half to put FLC up 46-30 after 20 minutes of play.
SDM started the second half with a 3-pointer and an old-school 3-point play to cut FLC’s lead to 48-36 with 18:15 left.
FLC wasn’t hitting its shots at a high percentage early on but it crashed the glass well to create offense on second-chance looks. The Hardrockers continued to hit their 3-pointers and a Keagan Smith 3-pointer cut FLC’s lead to 52-42 with 14:02 left.
The Skyhawks, specifically Johnson, started hitting their outside shots. Without Allen as the primary facilitator, FLC did a great job moving the ball quickly. Johnson had five points in about 40 seconds as FLC went on a 9-0 run to go up 61-42 with 11 minutes left.
Johnson had one of the highlight plays of the year inside Whalen. Gibson received the ball and found Johnson on a baseline backdoor cut. The pass was threaded through some traffic and Johnson caught it, went up strong and slammed it with one hand through some contact to put FLC up 63-43 with 10:40 left.
The 3-pointers were plentiful down the stretch for FLC and the Skyhawks’ largest lead was 39 as the reserves got plenty of run at the end of the game.
FLC plays Black Hills State on Saturday at 3 p.m.
bkelly@durangoherald.com