by CANYON, Texas – Fort Lewis (2-4) hung tough early on, and Stewart Erhart racked up a career-high 30 points, but the Skyhawks could not halt the barrage of three-pointers from the No. 15 nationally ranked Buffaloes, ultimately suffering a 105-84 loss at the hands of West Texas A&M University (7-0) in its final appearance at the West Texas Thanksgiving Classic at the First United Bank Center.
Fort Lewis nearly matched West Texas A&M from the floor, shooting 47.7 percent (31-65) from the field against 49.2 percent (31-63) from the opposition; however, three-point shooting held down the Skyhawks yet again as the Buffaloes knocked down 18 treys in 39 attempts (46.2 percent). The Buffs also shared the ball extremely well, recording 19 total assists and 39 points off the bench.
The Skyhawks jumped out to an early five-point lead on back-to-back possessions after forcing one of nine steals and one of 14 turnovers out of West Texas A&M. The home team rallied, forcing a series of lead changes before ultimately running out to a 26-point lead on Zach Brown’s trey at the 2:48 second mark just before intermission. The halftime lead would stand as the difference maker in the contest, as WTAMU only outscored FLC 49-48 in the second half.
Erhart shone in his second-straight start after returning from injury, tonight putting up the Skyhawks’ first 30-point performance of the year, and third over the last two years, on a lethal 11-of-16 shooting. Erhart was also 2-of-3 from beyond the arc and 6-of-7 at the free throw line with five rebounds, four assists, and two steals to his name. Chuol Deng also supplied a 14-point, 12-rebound double-double, his second of the year and 11th of his career, and had three assists. Jaxon Smith scored 16 points, and Massal Diouf and Donald Bangham, Jr. scored 10 points each to put five Skyhawks in double-figures for the first time this season.
On the opposite side, four Buffaloes finished in double-figures with 11 different players scoring at least one basket in the contest. Junior transfer Fontaine Williams went for a team-high 29 points, aided by 13 points from Jailyn Sledge, 12 points from Camden Cowgill, and 10 points from Kemper Jones. WT was edged off the glass 37-36, but picked up 16 second-chance points and 32 points off of Fort Lewis’ 19 turnovers.
