Alamosa, Colorado - The Adams State University men's basketball team opened the season tonight with a bruising exhibition victory over Johnson and Wales 98-76.
 
The Wildcats were never really in this game, as is to be expected in exhibition circumstances. The Grizzlies led by as much as 25 in the first half thanks to the Grizzlies' 61.76% shooting percentage. The halftime score was a dominant 56-32 in favor of ASU.
 
The second half saw the Wildcats fight back a bit, but never really threaten to pull any sort of upset. They did actually outscore Adams 44-42 in the second half, but never got closer than 22. The final horn sounded to the tune of a 98-76 win for the Grizzlies.
 
The big difference in the game was bench points and fast break points. The Grizzlies went to the bench for 45 points in the game while Johnson and Wales only managed four. ASU also won the rebound battle 45-31. The Grizzlies had seven players reach double-digits in scoring, led by Mike Thomas' double-double performance. Thomas, a senior, had 10 rebounds and 11 points to go along with three blocks on the night. The Wildcats relied heavily on Andrew Romero III and his 31 points in defeat.
 
Due to exhibition rules, the win will count for Adams State but will not count against Johnson and Wales.
  
The Grizzlies are off for five days before they travel to West Texas A&M on November 10^th at 7:00PM.