GUNNISON, Colo. – Tuesday will mark the 29^th game of the season for Western State Colorado University Men's Basketball. It will be the most games played by the Mountaineers in a single season since 2008-09. Western earned a 29^th game by defeating Colorado State University – Pueblo Saturday night and in turn, qualifying for the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament.
 
Western (13-15, 11-11 RMAC), the eighth seed in the RMAC Tournament, will face 21^st ranked Fort Lewis College (22-5, 18-4 RMAC), the first seed, on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. in Whalen Gymnasium.
 
The game will be Western's first RMAC Tournament game since the 2011-12 season. That year, the Mountaineers fell to the Colorado School of Mines 57-90. The last win for the Mountaineers in the RMAC Tournament came in the 1998-99 quarterfinals when Western defeated Regis University 87-71.
 
The Mountaineers and Skyhawks faced each other twice during the regular season. Both games came down to the wire, but FLC was able to come away with wins in each game. The first, in Durango, Colorado, went into overtime and ended with a 92-93 win by the Skyhawks. The second, in Gunnison, Colorado, finished with FLC winning by seven points, 69-76.
 
In the previous two games against FLC, Quincy Harding led the Mountaineers with 24 points in the first game and 25 in the second.
 
Western enters the tournament on a four-game winning streak, with the last three coming on the road.
 
Ben Beauchamp will look to help lead the Mountaineers to their first postseason victory in almost two decades. Beauchamp is averaging the fifth most points scored per game in the RMAC at 17.8. The senior guard has scored 31 points in each of his previous two games.
 
FLC enters the tournament having defeated Westminster College in the final regular season game. However, the Skyhawks had lost two straight games prior to the Westminster contest.
 
Rasmus Bach is FLC's leading scorer. Bach is averaging 15 points per game.
 
The winner of Tuesday night's matchup will advance to the RMAC Tournament Final Four on Friday. If Western wins, they will travel to the highest seeded team still alive in the tournament for the semifinals and finals.
 
If FLC wins Tuesday's game, they will play host for the RMAC Final Four and Finals on Friday and Saturday.
 
Fans unable to make the trip to Durango for Tuesday's game can still follow all the action live online by clicking on the links provided above.