DURANGO, Colo.  Western Colorado's Cole Sienknecht became the seventh Mountaineer to join the program's 1,000-point club, surpassing the mark Tuesday night in Western's 87-68 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference loss at Fort Lewis College.

Sienknecht, with 11 points in the game, was one of two Mountaineers to reach double digits in the loss, joined by Matthew Ragsdale's 15-point effort.

JUST THE FACTS
Final score: Fort Lewis def. Western Colorado 87-68
Records: Western Colorado 1-8 (0-3 RMAC), Fort Lewis 6-3 (2-1)
Location: Whalen Gymnasium; Durango, Colo.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Western had a strong opening to the game, pushing the lead to seven, 16-9, 12 minutes into the contest off a pair of made free throws by Kade Juelfs.
• The lead would dwindle from that point, until the Skyhawks would edge in front for the first time, 24-22, three minutes later.
• A Will Willis 3-pointer at the 3:26 mark would elevate Western back in front at 25-24, but an 11-5 closing run to the halftime break by Fort Lewis would change the lead, and the tone of the game.
• The Skyhawks' five-point halftime advantage would get trimmed to two, 39-37, on a Ragsdale jumper off a fast break in the early minutes of the second half, but Fort Lewis responded with a 6-0 that Western would be unable to recover from.

HARDWOOD NOTES

• Seinknecht was 4-of-5 from the floor in the game, including 1-of-2 from long range, and was a perfect 2-for-2 from the free throw line.
• Jaelan McCloud's eight rebounds would lead the Mountaineers off the glass, and he would add nine points, an assist and a block in a losing effort.
• Western's troubles revolved around Riley Farris and Akuel Kot most of the night, as the duo combined for more than half the Skyhawks' points. Farris would finish with a game-high 28, while Kot chipped in with 24. Brenden Boatwright also reached double figures with 15 points. All three came off the bench for the Skyhawks.
• It wasn't that Fort Lewis shot 50 percent to Western's 40%, but rather, that so many of the Skyhawk points, 46 of them, came from in close within the paint. Western was forced to fire away from outside that range, registering only 26 points from in close, affecting both the score and its shooting percentage.

UP NEXT

• Western will host Metropolitan State University of Denver on Saturday at Paul Wright Gym in a league contest that tips off at 7 p.m.
• Fort Lewis hosts Colorado Christian University Saturday in an RMAC contest.