QUICK HITS- WT held a 46-35 lead with 2:11 left in the first half before a 9-2 run by the Skyhawks
- The Buffs recorded four steals in the opening 20 minutes compared to zero by Fort Lewis
- West Texas A&M's largest lead of the game (72-59) came with 10:17 left on the clock
- The Skyhawks ended the game on a 32-9 run
- The Buffs move to 7-2 all-time against the Skyhawks including 2-1 in Durango
LEADING THE WAY (Statistical Leaders)Points –
David Chavlovich (WT, 21 Points), Joshua Blaylock (FLC, 21 Points), Rasmus Bach (FLC, 21 Points)
Rebounds –
Ryan Quaid (WT, 11 Rebounds),
Jeff Bonner (WT, 7 Rebounds), Austin Haldorson (FLC, 7 Rebounds)
Assists – Joshua Blaylock (FLC, 4 Assists), Rasmus Bach (FLC, 4 Assists),
Ryan Quaid (WT, 3 Assists),
Joseph Prince (WT, 3 Assists)
Blocks –
Jerrod Walton (WT, 1 Block), Austin Haldorson (FLC, 1 Block)
Steals –
Eric Golightly Jr. (WT, 4 Steals),
Tommy Gove (WT, 2 Steals), Rasmus Bach (FLC, 2 Steals), Jared Smith (FLC, 2 Steals)
DURANGO, Colorado – The West Texas A&M Buffaloes held a 13 point lead with just over 10 minutes remaining but the Skyhawks of Fort Lewis battled back and ended the game on a 32-9 run as they took a 91-81 victory over the Buffs in front of over 1,500 fans during the Skyhawk Regional Challenge at Whalen Gymnasium in the 2015 season opener on Friday night in Durango, Colorado. The Buffs fall to 0-1 on the season while Fort Lewis is now 1-0.
The game started off with the two teams trading early buckets as
Jeff Bonner scored the first three points of the season for the Buffs on a hard-earned three point play to open the game, the teams traded buckets before a 4-0 run by the Skyhawks forced a WT timeout with FLC leading 20-16 with just over 13 minutes to play in the half. The Buffs responded as they scored five straight with an
Eric Golightly Jr. layup followed by a
Jordan Evans deep ball from the wing to give the Buffs the 21-20 lead heading into a FLC timeout.
Fort Lewis would battle back to take a 27-25 lead into another timeout before Golightly Jr. found Bonner under the basket for the layup to tie the game, Jarrod Walton grabbed a big defensive rebound that led to a pair of free throws to give WT the 29-27 lead before FLC answered with two of their own from the charity stripe with 6:50 left in the half. The teams traded layups to remain tied followed by a
Joseph Prince floater in the lane to make it 33-31, the teams traded points before
David Chavlovich pulled up from the top of the key for the three with just over four minutes left.
Garrett Brockman hit one of two from the free throw line to run the lead to 39-35 followed by a steal by Bonner that led to a fast break opportunity that turned into two points by Brockman at the line, FLC missed from the charity stripe followed by
Tommy Gove going one of two from the line to stretch the largest lead of the game to 42-35 with 2:30 left.
The Skyhawks gave the ball back to WT with a turnover that led to a Chavlovich three from the wing to stretch the lead to 45-35, Fort Lewis hit three from the charity stripe on their next possession before
Ryan Quaid hit one of two from the line with 1:44 left. A technical foul on the Buffs allowed the Skyhawks to cut the lead to 46-43 followed by a WT turnover that led to another FLC free throw with just over a minute left, Golightly Jr. stopped the Skyhawks run with a great drive to the rim as the teams headed to the locker room for halftime with WT leading 48-44.
The Buffs were led at the half by Chavlovich who went 4-6 (66.7%) from the floor including 2-3 (66.7%) from deep for 11 points followed by Golightly Jr. and Prince with eight points each. WT went 18-33 (54.5%) from the floor in the opening half including 3-9 (33.3%) from deep and 9-13 (69.2%) from the charity stripe to go along with 19 rebounds (seven offensive, 12 defensive), seven assists, four turnovers, one block and four steals.
The teams traded misses to start the second half before a FLC baseline drive that ended in a slam to cut the lead to 48-46, Walton hit two from the free throw line followed by a steal by Chavlovich that led to a pair of free throws to stretch the lead to 52-46 with 18:44 left. FLC hit a transition three on their next possession followed by a stretch of misses by both teams before another Skyhawks three to tie the game at 52-52, another WT miss led to an FLC layup before Chavlovich answered with a three to give the Buffs the lead once again. Fort Lewis used the charity stripe to take the lead again at 57-56 before a Golightly Jr. steal and score and a FLC turnover with 14:20 left.
Bonner knocked down one of two from the free throw line followed by a FLC miss that led to a Prince free throw and a Bonner offensive board and putback to stretch the lead to 62-57 with just over 13 minutes left, Quaid got four straight points at the charity stripe to send the teams into a FLC timeout with the Buffs leading 66-57 with 11:55 left. Bonner knocked down two more from the line after the break followed by misses by both teams before a Skyhawk jumper, the teams traded misses again before a FLC offensive control foul that led to a Chavlovich three from the wing for WT's largest lead of the game at 72-59.
The Skyhawks answered with a layup on the other end of the floor followed by a WT turnover that forced a timeout with the Buffs leading 72-61 with 9:38 left, FLC connected on a layup after the break followed by a WT miss that led to three free throws by the SKyhawks to cut the lead to 72-66. WT couldn't find the bottom of the net again as FLC nailed a step-back three from the corner to force a WT timeout with the Buffs leading 72-69 with 8:17 left. Quaid ended the FLC run with an offensive board and putback followed by the teams trading misses before Quaid hit one of two from the free throw line to run the lead to 75-69 with 6:49 left.
Fort Lewis used an offensive rebound and putback to cut into the lead followed by a WT miss that led to a free throw by the Skyhawks with 5:41 left, the Buffs turned the ball over as FLC used that to cut into the lead again with a layup. WT continued their cold streak from the floor as they missed from long range as FLC took a 76-75 lead on a layup with 4:27 left, Bonner responded with a floater in the lane before Golightly Jr. made a great defensive play to come away with the steal and score to give WT the 79-76 lead. Fort Lewis responded with a layup to cut the lead to one followed by a WT miss that led to a FLC baseline dunk with 2:45 left, the Buffs gave the ball back with a questionable charge call as the teams headed into a timeout with FLC leading 80-79 with 2:26 remaining.
The teams traded misses after the timeout before the Skyhawks nailed a three to give them the 83-79 lead with 1:37 left, the Buffs missed a long ball on their end of the court as FLC took a timeout with the Skyhawks leading 83-79 with 1:08 left. Fort Lewis put the dagger in the Buffs with 51.6 seconds left as they hit a contested three from the wing to take the 86-79 lead, Chavlovich nailed two from the free throw line as the teams headed into the final timeout of the game. The Buffs were forced to play the foul game after the break as the Skyhawks took the 91-81 win in the season opener.
The Buffs were led offensively by Chavlovich with 21 points followed by Bonner with 14 and Golightly Jr. with 13. West Texas A&M went 25-60 (41.7%) from the floor including 5-21 (23.8%) from deep and 26-40 (65%) from the charity stripe to go along with 39 reboounds (13 offensive, 26 defensive), 23 fouls, 10 assists, 11 turnover, one block and eight steals on the night,
Fort Lewis was led by Joshua Blaylock and Rasmus Bach with 21 points each followed by Cade Kloster with 20 and Will Morse with 13. The Skyhawks went 29-57 (50.9%) from the floor including 9-27 (33.3%) from long range and 24-31 (77.4%) from the free throw line to go along with 36 rebounds (seven offensive, 29 defensive), 25 fouls, 19 assists, 15 turnovers, one block and four steals in the game.
NEXT TIME OUTThe Buffs will wrap-up opening weekend action tomorrow night as they finish the Skyhawk Regional Challenge with a matchup against New Mexico Highlands with tipoff set for 9 p.m. CT in Durango, Colorado. The Cowboys topped Eastern New Mexico, 85-77 earlier in the day at Whalen Gymnasium.
