ALAMOSA, Colo. - It was another back-and-forth night on the hardwood for Adams State Men's Basketball as the team dropped a 79-74 contest at home on Friday to Colorado Mesa. The Grizzlies loss puts their record at 4-11 overall and 4-6 in conference.
Adams State managed to force 19 turnovers against Colorado Mesa (12-4, 7-3 RMAC) which led to 21 points, but 42 points from the visiting bench combined with a 51.8% shooting in the second half help them secure the road win.
The Grizzlies shot 40% in the first half to take a 35-30 lead into halftime and went 3-7 from three-point range for 42.9%. The Mavericks managed to stay within two possession thanks to 20 points from their bench to go along with 42.3% shooting from the floor and 44.4% shooting from beyond the arc.
Both teams came out the gate trading buckets. CMU managed to get up 9-5 in the first 4:30 to play but it did not last long as Adams State strung together a 9-0 run to grab a 14-9 lead with 13:53 to play in the half.
Back-to-back three-pointers from
Davere Creighton accounted for the majority of the Grizzlies 9-0 run. All nine points came from beyond the arc as
Justice Augmon added the third triple to help the Grizzles establish a five-point lead.
The run ultimately help Adams State maintain a lead for the remainder of the first half. Both teams continued to trade shots as CMU managed to get within two a number of times, while Adams State managed to lead by as much as 10 points.
Midway through the first half, the Grizzlies led by four, 18-14. Looking to keep things interesting, the Mavericks tried to respond to get within one possession but the Grizzlies had an answer each time. The home team outscored the Mavericks 9-4 after the midway point and led by nine, 27-18, with 6:28 to play in the half.
Augmon helped Adams State get up nine with a 6-0 run all by himself to create some breathing room. CMU answered with a deep three to make it a six-point game but back-to-back layups from
Rickey Norris gave Adams State its largest lead of the night, 31-21.
With just over four minutes to play in the half, the Mavericks finally found some offensive rhythm and outscored the Grizzlies 9-4 to stay within reach going into the break.
John Dewey led the way in scoring in the first 20 minutes with 13 points to help the Grizzlies lead by five, 35-30.
The second half ultimately fell in the Mavericks' favor as they scored 49 points to the Grizzlies 39. The Mavericks bench scored 22 points in the second half and they went 6-12 from three-point range to secure the win.
Within the first three minutes of play, the game was tied twice at 35-35 and 37-37. Dewey gave the lead back to Adams State with a three from the left wing to make it 40-37. CMU hit two free throws to get within one before Dewey hit a jumper and a layup to push the lead back to five, 44-39.
The Mavericks kept the game close thanks to made shots at the free throw line but early shots from the floor by the Grizzlies helped them stay in front. A layup from Creighton with 13:44 to play gave the Grizzlies a seven-point edge, 48-41.
CMU then outscored Adams State 11-3 over the next two minutes to take their first lead of the game since early on in the first half, 52-51. From that point on the two teams went shot for shot for a good while before CMU manged to create late separation.
A layup from Augmon with just under seven minutes to play in regulation gave the Grizzlies the lead back, 61-60, but it did not last long. The Mavericks hit a three and a layup to get back up four. Creighton responded with a three of his own to keep the Grizzlies within one, 65-64.
The Mavericks managed to stay in front down the stretch and led by as much as seven on three occasions in the final minutes. The Grizzlies looked to respond one final time but were held scoreless for nearly two minutes as they ultimately fell 79-74.
Dewey scored 20 points in the second half to finish with a game-high 33. He shot 11-18 from the floor and was 9-10 from the free throw line. He also had four steals on the night. Creighton was one rebound shy of a double-double as he scored 15 points and grabbed nine boards. Both Augmon and Norris chipped in 10 points to round out the double-digit scoring for the Grizzlies. Augmon also had five assists to lead the Grizzlies.
Three Mavericks scored in double figures led by Jess Spivey with 26 points off the bench. He finished 9-12 shooting and went 8-11 from three-point range. Tommy Nuno added 12 points and dished out a game-high eight assists. Connor Nichols chipped in 10 points and was the team's leading rebounder with nine boards.
The Grizzlies will look to bounce back tomorrow night, Jan. 19, as they host rival Western Colorado to close out their homestand. Game time against the Mountaineers is set for 7:30 p.m. inside Plachy Hall Gym.
