Tribune-Herald
Tribune-Herald
Nick Tomsick scored a game-high 21 points and 6-foot-9 Alex Herrera added 18 points and 16 rebounds to lead No. 20 Fort Lewis College to an 83-74 win over the University of Hawaii at Hilo on Monday night.
It was the second game of the Naniloa Volcanoes Resort’s Thanksgiving Basketball Tournament at the UHH Gym. In the opener, Tiffin University (Ohio) defeated Northern New Mexico 82-63.
Fort Lewis (3-0), a disciplined team with an outstanding junior center in Herrera and a high-scoring senior guard in Tomsick, had its hands full throughout the evening with the hustling Vulcans (2-2). The score was tied at 40-40 at the intermission and UHH only trailed by six points late in the contest before Fort Lewis pulled away in the final two minutes.
The Skyhawks outscored UHH 43-34 in the second half.
Junior guard Joey Rodriguez led the Vulcans with 15 points. Senior point guard Derek Owens (9 of 12 free throws) had 14 and senior forward Brandon Thomas 11. Owens and Thomas tied in rebounding for the hosts, with eight apiece.
UHH’s full-court press wore down the visitors, who had 22 turnovers compared to 16 for the Vulcans. But the Skyhawks sank 18 of 32 free throws, including some clutch ones down the stretch to hold off UHH.
Herrera, who came into the contest averaging 25 points per game, was continually double-teamed by the Vulcans. He still had a strong all-around performance with his 18 points, 16 rebounds and four blocked shots.
Fort Lewis shot 50 percent (29 of 58) from the field, 37 percent (7 of 19) on 3-pointers and held a 45-44 rebounding edge. The Vuls hit 36 percent (24 of 66) from the floor, 41 percent (7 of 17) on treys and 65 percent (19 of 29) from the free-throw line.
UHH plays Tiffin (3-0) at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday night in the second day of the four-team, round-robin tournament. In the 5 p.m. opener, it’s Northern New Mexico (4-3) vs. Fort Lewis.
Tiffin 82, Northern New Mexico 63
Joe Graessle scored 20 points and Ashton Khan had 14 to lead Tiffin (3-0) to a strong win over Northern New Mexico (4-3) in Monday’s tournament opener.
The Dragons used a 16-0 point spree in the first 5 1/2 minutes of the second half to break the game open.
Matthew Brito lead the Eagles with 17 points, including five three-pointers. Eric Garcia and Christian Barraza each chipped in with 10 points.
NNM 22 41 – 63
TU 34 48 – 82
FORT LEWIS COLLEGE (3-0)
Austin 2-4 1-3 5, Mckenzie 4-8 4-7 13, Tomsick 8-17 2-3 21, Smith 1-3 0-0 3, Herrera 7-10 3-5 18, Morse 0-1 0-0 0, Matthews 3-6 4-6 10, Kloster 1-3 4-6 7, Archuleta 2-2 0-1 4, Flohr 0-0 0-0 0, Garcia 0-3 0-0 0, Salcido 1-1 0-1 2. Totals 29-28 7-19 18-32
UHH (2-2)
Swanson 2-4 0-0 6, Williams 1-7 0-0 2, Owens 2-5 9-12 14, Dancer 4-11 0-1 8, Thomas 4-12 3-5 11, Clayton 3-8 1-3 8, Perkins 2-4 2-2 7, Rodriguez 5-10, 3-4 15, Dyachenko 0-1 0-0 0, Campbell 1-4 1-2 3. Totals 24-66 7-17 19-29
Halftime — FLC 40, UHH 40. 3-Point Goals— FLC 7-19 (Tomsick 3-7), UHH 7-17 (Swanson 2-3, Rodriguez 2-4). Fouled Out — No one. Rebounds — FLC 45 (Herrera 16), UHH 44 (Owens 8, Thomas 8). Assists— FLC 12 (Tomsick 3, Matthews 3), UHH 14 (Owens 3, Dancer 3). Total Fouls — FLC 25, UHH 29. Technicals — None. A — 480.