Box Score SILVER CITY, N.M. – The Western New Mexico University men's basketball team came out of the locker room on fire to start the second half, as they erased a 12-point halftime lead to come away with a 63-59 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference victory over Fort Lewis College Saturday night inside Drag's Court.


FLC (7-6, 5-4 RMAC) looked to be in control, as they held a 12-point lead at halftime, 33-21.


The Skyhawks kept the lead in double-digits throughout the early minutes of the second half before Chad Carter (Tucson, AZ/Ironwood Ridge High School) and TJ Riley (Tyler, TX/Chapel Hill High School) came to life.


Carter started the rally with a jumper and then a minute later, a big technical foul call on FLC followed a foul in the act of shooting giving WNMU (5-9, 5-5 RMAC) four free throws.


The Mustangs converted all four shots, with Carter hitting two and Riley two leaving WNMU within seven, 45-38, at the midway point of the second half.


The run continued, with Juan Suarez (Nogales, AZ/Nogales High School) dashing to the hoop for two following a Skyhawk turnover and after FLC finally tallied a basket to boost their lead back to seven, WNMU took control.


Riley took over, as he got loose in the far corner for a three off a pass from Merle Branch (Sierra Vista, AZ/Buena High School), then he worked his way to the other corner and caught a pass from Suarez and delivered another corner try to leave WNMU down by just one, 47-46, at the 7:31 mark.


With the gym rocking, the Mustangs continued to pressure FLC, tying the game at 48 on free throws by Carter and later went ahead on a top of the key three by Carter that knocked the roof off the court and had WNMU ahead by one, 51-50, with just under six minutes to play.


Riley added to the pressure, as after another Skyhawk turnover on three seconds in the key, Riley smoked another three-pointer from near the corner to increase the lead to four, 54-50.


FLC answered with a basket to get within two, but the Mustangs held strong, with Suarez slashing through the Skyhawk defense for an uncontested layup to make it 56-52 at the 3:53 mark.


FLC followed with a missed three that Carter collected the rebound and later Chris Mason (Phoenix, AZ/St. Mary's High School) got into the act, as Riley faked the shot, and then found Mason dashing down the baseline in which he turned the pass into an assist with the layup in traffic for a 58-52 lead.


An offensive foul turned the ball back over to the Mustangs in which Riley made them pay with a jumper near the top of the key to make it a 60-52 lead with 2:17 to play.


The Skyhawks still had a run left in them, tallying two free throws and a layup to make it a 60-56 game with just over a minute to play in the contest.


It then became anybody's game the next few seconds, as the Mustangs missed a layup, but FLC then answered that by missing on the front end of a one-and-one in which Lucio Luttrell (Las Cruces, NM/Las Cruces High School) rebounded with 41 seconds left.


FLC, forced to foul, sent Mason to the line, but he missed the front end of a one-and-one to still leave the door open for FLC. The Skyhawks pushed the ball and let a three loose, but missed the shot and on the ensuing loose ball, FLC collected it, but then lost the ball back to the Mustangs in which they got a timeout with 18 seconds left.


This time WNMU made their free throws count, as Luttrell hit one of two to extend the lead to five and after FLC nailed a three with two seconds left to leave it a two-point game, Ryan Crane (Anthem, AZ/Boulder Creek High School) sealed the game by hitting both of his foul shots to push the lead to four.


Early on, FLC controlled the action, as following a free throw by Riley to give WNMU a 7-6 lead, FLC pushed across the next six points for a 12-7 lead eight minutes in.


They would hold the lead the rest of the half, extending the lead as high as 14 with a minute before halftime. The Mustangs then came to life near the midway part of the second half to pull out the big victory.


Riley, who scored 18 of his 23 points in the second half, led all-scorers, while also adding seven rebounds, three assists, two steals and no turnovers. Carter chipped in 13 and eight rebounds, while Brelan Berry (Chandler, AZ/Basha High School) added eight and Suarez seven points.


Matt Morris had a big game for the Skyhawks, as their center went for 16 points and 18 rebounds.


Turnovers were a big factor, as FLC committed 19 to just six for the Mustangs. WNMU also held a big advantage at the foul line, making 13-of-22, to a 5-of-8 effort for FLC.


WNMU will make the long trip up north this coming week when they will visit Nebraska, first playing against Nebraska-Kearney on Friday night with tipoff set for 5 p.m. Mountain Standard Time.
 

Fort Lewis vs Western New Mexico
01/07/12 7:34 p.m. at Silver City, NM (Drag's Court)
At Silver City, NM (Drag's Court)
WESTERN NEW MEXICO 63, FORT LEWIS 59
FORT LEWIS (7-6, 5-4 RMAC)
Matt Morris 7-10 2-2 16; Mike Matthews 3-5 0-1 8; Josh Cassaday 4-7 0-0 8;
Matthias Weissl 3-9 0-0 7; Matt Billups 3-12 0-0 6; Marcus Ayala 2-4 0-0 4;
Torrey Udall 1-4 2-3 4; Louie LaBate 1-1 0-0 3; Matthew Mazarei 1-4 0-0 2;
Andre Marquez 0-0 1-2 1; Alex Herrera 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-56 5-8 59.
WESTERN NEW MEXICO (5-9, 5-5 RMAC)
TJ Riley (Tyler, TX/Chapel Hill High School) 8-19 3-6 23; Chad Carter (Tucson, AZ/Ironwood Ridge High School) 4-9 4-4 13; Brelan Berry (Chandler, AZ/Basha High School) 3-8 2-4 8; Juan
Suarez 3-6 0-0 7; Lucio Luttrell (Las Cruces, NM/Las Cruces High School) 2-6 2-5 6; Ryan Crane (Anthem, AZ/Boulder Creek High School) 0-3 2-2 2; Daryl
Littleton 1-2 0-0 2; Chris Mason (Phoenix, AZ/St. Mary's High School) 1-5 0-1 2; Everett Duis (El Paso, TX/El Dorado High School) 0-2 0-0 0; Merle
Branch 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-61 13-22 63.
Fort Lewis....................   33   26  -   59
Western New Mexico............   21   42  -   63
3-point goals--Fort Lewis 4-18 (Mike Matthews 2-3; Matthias Weissl 1-6;
Louie LaBate 1-1; Marcus Ayala 0-1; Matthew Mazarei 0-2; Matt Billups 0-4;
Josh Cassaday 0-1), Western New Mexico 6-19 (TJ Riley (Tyler, TX/Chapel Hill High School) 4-8; Chad Carter (Tucson, AZ/Ironwood Ridge High School) 1-4;
Juan Suarez (Nogales, AZ/Nogales High School) 1-2; Ryan Crane (Anthem, AZ/Boulder Creek High School) 0-2; Chris Mason (Phoenix, AZ/St. Mary's High School) 0-2; Lucio Luttrell (Las Cruces, NM/Las Cruces High School) 0-1).
Fouled out--Fort Lewis-None, Western New Mexico-None. Rebounds--Fort Lewis
46 (Matt Morris 18), Western New Mexico 30 (Chad Carter (Tucson, AZ/Ironwood Ridge High School) 8). Assists--Fort
Lewis 10 (Matt Morris 3), Western New Mexico 12 (Juan Suarez (Nogales, AZ/Nogales High School) 3; TJ Riley (Tyler, TX/Chapel Hill High School) 3).
Total fouls--Fort Lewis 13, Western New Mexico 12. Technical fouls--Fort
Lewis-Josh Cassaday, Western New Mexico-None. A-1120