Colorado Mesa’s Isaac Jessup drilled a go-ahead 3-pointer with 35 seconds left to make it 81-80 CMU, and Owen Koonce hit back-to-back free throws after a Fort Lewis miss.
Obi Agbim missed a 3-point attempt on Fort Lewis’ next possession, and Colorado Mesa’s Christopher Speller grabbed the rebound with three seconds left. Speller then hit both free throws upon getting fouled.
Agbim scored 17 points, while Malik Whitaker (12), Samier Kinsler (11) and Sekou Dembele (10) also scored in double figures for the Skyhawks.
Koonce scored a game-high 20 points for the Mavericks.
Here’s video of the final seconds of the game: https://x.com/DurangoHerald/status/1769514717033468368?s=20
Fort Lewis made it a one-possession game with 15:33 left, thanks to a key layup by Obi Agbim at the 16:05 mark in the second half.
The Skyhawks took a 54-53 lead on Samier Kinsler’s go-ahead layup with 13:18 left. Kinsler then hit a pull-up jumper with 11:53 left to make it 59-58, followed by two free throws and key 3-pointer to give Fort Lewis a 64-59 lead with 11:12 left.
Agbim later hit a go-ahead jumper with 1:37 left to give Fort Lewis a 79-78 lead, and Brayden Carter grabbed a defensive rebound off a missed 3-pointer 20 seconds later.
Both teams opened the game shooting 5 of 6, but Colorado Mesa went on a 9-0 run over over a stretch of 2:57.
Fort Lewis made zero field goals over a stretch of three minutes and 15 seconds. Amondo Miller Jr. hit a jumper to break that scoring drought at the 13:43 mark in the opening frame.
Fort Lewis later had a scoring drought lasting 2:43 before Obi Agbim scored on a fast-break dunk at the 9:55 mark in the first half.
The Skyhawks then had a third scoring drought lasting 2:15 before Agbim made the first of two free throws at the 5:50 mark in the first half.
Fort Lewis trailed 37-27 with 3:39 left in first half, but are chipping away at the deficit. Colorado Mesa led 43-38 at halftime.
Here’s video of the opening seconds: https://x.com/DurangoHerald/status/1769485481874727112?s=20
Here’s video of some Fort Lewis fans cheering on the team after a key offensive rebound: https://x.com/DurangoHerald/status/1769495102106566794?s=20
The Skyhawks and Mavericks are doing battle for the second time in just over a week.
Fort Lewis beat Colorado Mesa 86-75 in the RMAC Tournament championship game on March 9. The Skyhawks are averaging 86.3 points per game entering tonight, while the Mavericks are averaging 86.8 points per game coming in.
Tipoff starts at 4 p.m. Mountain Time from the First Bank United Center in Canyon, Texas.
The winner advances to Tuesday’s South Central Regional tournament championship game.
Here are tonight’s starting lineups:
Fort Lewis - Junior Garbrah, Obi Agbim, Jhei-R Jones, Malik Whitaker, Sekou Dembele
Colorado Mesa - Christopher Speller, Reece Johnson, Isaac Jessup, Owen Koonce, Trevor Baskin
Check back here for live updates.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
