Men's Basketball | 2/26/2017 2:48:00 PM
ALAMOSA, Colo. (February 26, 2017) – For the third consecutive season, Adams State University faces Colorado School of Mines in the quarterfinal round of the RMAC Tournament. Adams State enters the tournament field as the eighth seed with Colorado Mines earning the first seed.
The Grizzlies defeated the Orediggers, 94-91, in quarterfinal action of the 2014-15 season but fell last season 78-69 in postseason play.
Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. from Lockridge Arena on February 28
th. Live coverage links can be found above.
Last Time Out
With 10 seconds left, an and-one layup by Zerrion Payton gave Westminster College a 77-75 lead as the Griffins looked to steal the win but
Brandon Sly answered with a deep three-pointer with one second remaining to secure a thrilling 78-77 win for the Grizzlies. Sly's game-winner was significant as it clinched the eighth, and final, seed for the Grizzlies in the RMAC Tournament.
With a RMAC Tournament berth on the line, Sly enforced his will by scoring ASU's final 15 points. Sly's scoring run began with a three-pointer to give ASU a 66-61 lead with 7:33 remaining and concluded with his game-winner with one second left.
Sly posted 18 of his game-high 23 points after halftime. The junior shot 8-of-15 from the field, 4-of-9 from three along with 7 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals.
Shane Johnson added 22 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 steals.
Brandon Pasker chipped in 8 points and 5 rebounds in limited action before fouling out in the second half.
Scouting The Orediggers
Colorado Mines enters postseason play as the No. 1 seed in the RMAC Tournament. The Orediggers claimed the top seed thanks to a 6-game winning streak to end the regular season. Colorado Mines surpassed second-seeded Fort Lewis College by virtue of beating the Skyhawks 94-82 on Feb. 17
th along with an 84-78 Fort Lewis road defeat to Westminster on Feb. 24
th.
The Orediggers have the RMAC's best defense that allows just 65.4 ppg. to opponents. Gokul Natesan is tied for fourth in RMAC scoring at 18.5 ppg. Natesan leads all conference players with 1.9 steals per game. Luke Schroepfer adds 13.5 ppg. while shooting 48 percent from three-point range.
The Orediggers own a 12-1 home record and claimed the outright RMAC Regular Season Championship with an 89-57 win at home over Metropolitan State University of Denver on Feb. 25
th.
Last We Met
In Golden on Jan. 28
th, a close back-and-forth matchup did not end in Adams State's favor as then No. 22 Colorado School of Mines walked away with a 75-66 win from Lockridge Arena.
At the time, the loss snapped a five-game winning streak for the Grizzlies while the Orediggers extended their winning streak to 11. The game featured 10 lead changes and a tied score on 8 occasions. The Grizzlies shot 37.5 percent (24-64) from the field to mark their second lowest shooting performance of the season.
Sly posted a team-high 20 points and 4 rebounds. Pasker added 11 points, 8 rebounds, 4 steals, and 2 blocks.
Bryan Umoru and
Johnson added 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Conference Glance (RMAC Tournament field)
^ Not eligible for RMAC or NCAA Postseason Play
Stay Connected
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Team Posters
Fans, team posters are available online at www.asugrizzlies.com. Navigate to the 'Fan Zone' at the top of the ASU home page to find our 'Team Posters' link. Team posters will be updated and added over the course of the year. Hard copies of posters are also available at the ASU athletic office.
