ALAMOSA, Colo. - The Adams State Men's Basketball team earned its' first win of the season Saturday night against Fort Lewis College. The 68-60 victory gave the Grizzlies their first win in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.

The Grizzlies found themselves playing from behind early on against the Skyhawks. Adams State trailed 18-10 midway through the first half. The Grizzlies quickly erased the deficit with a 14-6 run to tie the game at 24.

The Grizzlies pushed their way passed the Skyhawks to take the 31-26 lead heading into halftime. Adams State went into the locker room shooting 37% from the field while holding Fort Lewis College to 40%. The Grizzlies cleaned up the glass with 24 total rebounds in the first half. The Skyhawks finished with just 18 boards in the first 20 minutes of action.

The Skyhawks opened the second half with a 12-2 spurt to surpass the Grizzlies, 38-33. The lead was short-lived as the Grizzlies rallied off eight straight points to take a three point lead over the Skyhawks midway through the second half.

The two teams continued to trade baskets the rest of the second half. The largest lead was five points with the Skyhawks leading 53-48 with three minutes remaining. A three-pointer from Justice Augmon quickly cut the lead to just two. Rickey Norris shortly tied the game with two clutch free-throws.

The Skyhawks reclaimed the lead after two free-throws by Keven Biggs. Adams State now trailed 55-53 with just eight seconds left in the game. After taking the ball down the full length of the court, a foul by Fort Lewis gave Davere Creighton the chance to tie the game. Two clutch free-throws by Creighton sent the game into overtime.   

The Grizzlies didn't waste time taking the lead in overtime. Adams State wheeled off the first eight points in the extra period. The Skyhawks would soon cut the lead down to just four points. However, that was the closest the Skyhawks would get as the Grizzlies put the game away, 68-60.

One of the differences in the game was points in the paint. The Grizzlies outscored the Skyhawks 40-28 in points in the paint. Adams State also lead in bench scoring with 31 points coming from off the bench, while holding Fort Lewis to just 16. The Grizzlies outmuscled the Skyhawks down low, grabbing 49 rebounds to just 35 by the Skyhawks.

Shemar Johnson and Davere Creighton were the team leaders in points with 17 for the game. Creighton also grabbed 12 boards for the Grizzlies, 10 of them on the defensive side. Rickey Norris contributed 12 points to lead the Grizzlies in bench scoring.

Marquel Beasley finished as the lead scorer for the Skyhawks with 17 points. Alex Semadeni and Keven Biggs contributed 11 and 10 points for the Skyhawks offense. Beasley, Semadeni, and Biggs each finished with seven boards in the game. The Grizzlies held the Skyhawks to just 38% shooting from the field 15% from beyond the arc.

The Grizzlies continue conference play on the road next weekend. Adams State duals CSU-Pueblo Dec. 7 and New Mexico Highlands Dec. 8.