WESTERN COLORADO at FORT LEWIS COLLEGE
7:30 p.m., Thu., Jan. 8 | Whalen Gymnasium | Durango, Colo.
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WESTERN COLORADO at NEW MEXICO HIGHLANDS
3 p.m., Sat., Jan. 10 | John A Wilson Complex | Las Vegas, N.M.
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DURANGO, Colo., LAS VEGAS, N.M.  Tied for second in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference standings, Western Colorado will look to strengthen its placing on a weekend road trip to Fort Lewis College and to New Mexico Highlands University.

THE HISTORY

• Fort Lewis comes into Thursday's game on a nine-game win streak over the Mountaineers, adding to an overall record of 31-7 against Western Colorado.
• The Mountaineers and Cowboys have exchanged wins over the past five meetings. Starting with a NMHU win late in the 2022-23 season, the teams have alternated victories, though the Cowboys have a 22-10 overall record in the series.

WESTERN COLORADO HEADING INTO THE WEEKEND | 2025-26 Stats

• At 3-1 in RMAC action early in the season, Western enters the weekend with a 5-7 mark overall. The conference slate began with a pair of wins before surrendering a four-point loss in its next game, but there was an immediate bounce back with a 26-point victory for another W in the win column.
• The Mountaineers head into the Fort Lewis game following a pair of non-conference defeats, including the most recent game in which they erased a 16-point second-half deficit before suffering defeat at UC Colorado Springs.
• Western boasts the nation's leading scorer in Aidan McDowell who averages 28.1 PPG. His 44 3-pointers ties for 10th most amongst Division II players and his 3.7 triples per game are ninth best in DII.
• Tyler Halligan is having a career season in his third at Western. His 17.6 PPG mark this winter is more than double his average over his first two seasons as a Mountaineer. And his 6.7 RPG, which lead the team and ranks 10th in the RMAC, also more than double his average over his first two seasons.
• Newcomer Jordan Kuac is also making his mark for Western in the offensive end, chipping in with 11.9 PPG while also contributing 5.9 RPG.
• Another newcomer this year, Mason Mottashed, is the distributor for the offense with 47 assists, and he's also leading the team defensively with 13 steals.
• Western continues to improve its turnover margin, currently at minus-6 per game, but that figure has been decreasing since halfway through the team's initial 12 outings.

FORT LEWIS HEADING INTO THE GAME | 2025-26 Stats

• The Skyhawks are 6-5 overall and 4-0 in the RMAC, reeling off four conference wins before a non-conference pre-holidays trip to San Antonio where FLC lost to No. 14 St. Edwards but the next day downed No. 13 St. Mary's by 13 points at the River City Holiday Classic.
• They lost four straight after a 2-0 start to the season before rebounding with those four RMAC wins ahead of the Texas trip.
• Those streaks contribute to the Skyhawks posting a minus-3 scoring margin against opponents. They've averaged 81 PPG but are allowing 84 each outing. Teams have been raining down long-range points against the FLC defense, totaling 126 treys so far this season, compared to only 69 by Skyhawks players.
• It's a trio of scorers for FLC as Stewart Erhart (15.6 PPG), Chuol Deng (14.9) and Jaxon Smith (14.5) add up for the bulk of scoring.
• Deng is the team's leading rebounder at 8.6 RPG, third best in the RMAC, with Erhart's 27 total steals is tops in the RMAC.
• Yorgio Golesis is the court general that sparks the Skyhawk attack, dishing out a team-leading 46 assists through the first 11 games.

N.M. HIGHLANDS HEADING INTO THE WEEKEND | 2025-26 Stats

• The Cowboys host Colorado Mesa on Thursday before the Saturday challenge from the Mountaineers.
• Even at 2-2 in RMAC play, Highlands is 4-11 overall, dropping its last two games that halted a three-game winning streak.
• The Cowboys rely on a fairly balanced scoring attack, with five players scoring at least 9 PPG, led by a 13.1 average from Marcus Pierce.
• Nikk Williams (9.3 PPG) almost doubles up the team's second leading rebounder. Williams pulls down 7.6 per game, which ranks sixth within RMAC players.
• Highlands is a drive to the basket and a fast-break team, not getting much from beyond the arc, while opponents have built a 117-68 buffer from behind the 3-point line.
• The Cowboy defense creates challenges for their opponents. Six players have at least 10 steals, led by Williams' 20, with those turnovers often sparking races downcourt to the basket in a frenzied pace of play.

UP NEXT
Next week Western welcomes Colorado Mesa to Paul Wright Gym for a Jan. 13 RMAC game, before traveling to Westminster University in Salt Lake City two days later for another conference contest.