Skyhawks battle, but fall to Mankato in NCAA Regional Game

Skyhawks battle, but fall to Mankato in NCAA Regional Game

by Aaron Cooper, Fort Lewis Sports Information Director

Marshall, Minn. - The Fort Lewis College men's basketball team (24-10) season ended in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Central Regional Tournament where they fell to Minnesota State-Mankato (26-8) with the final score of 87-61. The fifth-seed Skyhawks battled all forty minutes but eventually fell to the  fourth-seed Mavericks of Mankato, ending one of the most successful seasons in Skyhawk basketball history.

The Skyhawks were able to jump to an early 4-0 lead after baskets by seniors Kirk Archibeque and Ryan Yates in the first minute. For the next seven minutes the Skyhawks and the Mavericks traded baskets until the game was tied at 15 with 12:30 left in the first half. Feeding off their upbeat tempo, the Mavericks were able to stretch their lead to 20-27 at the 9:32 mark. Fort Lewis was then able to have a run of their own with a bucket from sophomore DeAndre Lansdowne, a 3-point play from Yates and Archibeque hitting 1-2 free-throws, cutting their deficit to one at 26-27. The last six minutes of the first half belonged to MSU, Mankato after hitting three consecutive shots from behind the arc. The Skyhawks battled to cut to eight but the Mavericks hit a lay-up at the buzzer to go up 10 at the half, 35-45.

The Skyhawks went 15-29 from the field (51%) and only 1-4 from three-point range. Archibeque carried Fort Lewis in the first half with 13 points and six rebounds. The Mavericks went 15-36 from the field (42%) and were led by Jake Morrow who had 14 points.

The beginning of the second half started much like the first game. Two quick buckets from Trent Bowman and Lansdowne cut the lead to six at 45-39. Despite their run six points was as close as the Skyhawks would get in the second half. Throughout the half the Skyhawks were able to cut the lead to 11 but the Mavericks lead grew to as much as 25 with 2:30 left in the game. The Mavericks outscored the Skyhawks 42-26 in the second half.

The Skyhawks were haunted by offensive rebounds all game giving up 20 offensive rebounds to their 12. Fort Lewis shot 40% from the field on the night but only went 1-10 from beyond the arc (10%). Mankato shot 43% from the floor and went 9-18 from long range (50%). Archibeque led the way for the Skyhawks with 20 points and 12 rebounds, Lansdowne finished with 13 and Jordan Brooks with 11. The Mavericks had two players in double figures, one with 21 and the other with 19.

Fort Lewis says farewell to five successful seniors: Ryan Jameson, Ryan Yates, Trent Bowman, Kirk Archibeque and Jordan Brooks. These seniors finished their season with an impressive 24-10 record, tying the record for most wins in a season, going 110-40 (73%) in the last five years and making their third consecutive trip to the NCAA Regional Tournament.