PUEBLO, Colo. - Despite a game-high 31 points from guard John Dewey against the MSU Texas, the Adams State Men's Basketball team fell just short of another comeback bid on day two of the Al Kaly Shrine Classic. The Grizzlies battled all 40 minutes but ultimately fell to the Mustangs, 75-71, to fall to 0-4 on the year.

The Grizzlies found themselves playing from behind early on in the game as the Mustangs (3-1) jumped out to a 10-3 lead in the first three minutes of play. Looking to keep the game close though the first half, the Grizzlies tried to answer offensively but the Mustangs maintained the tempo and pace. At the midway point of the first half, MSU Texas held a 21-11 lead over Adams State.

The double figure lead for the Mustangs was sporadic for much of the final 10 minutes of play. The Grizzlies got within three points at two different times and within a point once late in the first half. A layup by Isaiah Nelson at the 6:27 mark brought the game to 28-25. A pair of free throws from Dewey with 4:53 made it 30-27. The Grizzlies one point deficit came when Shemar Johnson hit a jumper at the 4:35 mark to make it a 30-29 game.

The Mustangs pushed their lead to seven going into break at 40-33. The biggest difference in the first 20 minutes of action was points in the paint and bench points. The Mustangs won both battles with 18 points in the trenches and 15 bench points. The Grizzlies had just four points from their bench and eight down in the paint. The Mustangs shot an even 40%, while the Grizzlies shot just 34.4% in the first half. 

The Grizzlies got the second half started with a quick 4-0 run off a pair of layups from Rickey Norris and Johnson, respectively. The Grizzlies cut their deficit to three again, 40-37, and from then on the two teams battled back-and-forth. Back-to-back made free throws from Szymon Walczak made it a two-point game, 43-41, but a  quick triple from the Mustangs made it a five point game yet again. The made three pointer started a 9-2 run for MSU Texas.

The run gave MSU Texas a 52-43 lead with 14:40 to play in the second half. The Grizzlies made sure they did fall behind double figures as responded with an 9-2 run that brought the score to 54-52 with 10:01 to play in the game. The game continued to go back-and-forth but the Mustangs never let the Grizzlies tie the game or take the lead. The Mustangs manged to push the lead to 10 one more time late in the game at 73-63 with 2:36 to play before holding on for the slim 75-71 win.

The Grizzlies found an offensive rhythm in the second half as they shot 53.3% to finish the night 43.5% from the floor. The Grizzlies put up 26 points in the paint in the second half to finish with 36 on the night. They edged out the Mustangs by two in that category. Dewey's 31 points on the night 11-of-19 shooting. He posted a double-double as he also had 10 rebounds on the night in an all-around performance. Dewey was the only Grizzly in double figures and was named to the All-Tournament team.

MSU Texas shot 43.8% for the game and had three players score 10-plus points. Elijah Lee led the way with 15 points on 50% shooting (6-of-12). Bishop Coulter and Gilbert Thomas added 13 and 12 points, respectively to round out the double-digit scoring. Thomas also grabbed seven rebounds to lead the way for the Mustangs.

The Grizzlies will be back in action on Nov. 23 and 24 as they will compete in the Angelo State Thanksgiving Tournament. Their opponents will be Central Baptist College and host Angelo State.