Odessa, TX – The Adams State Men's basketball team ended their opening weekend this afternoon on a second consecutive falling to non-conference opponent Texas Permian Basin 75-94 on the road. Freshman Rylan O'brien looked to make a statement, putting up an impressive six rebounds, three turnovers, four steals, and 27 overall points, leading the Grizzlies in the Saturday afternoon matchup.

On the opening weekend, all players to suit up got playing time, showing potential for the upcoming 2019-20 season. The first half kicked off with an exchange of layups within the first 30 seconds of play. The Grizzlies would see their first and only lead in the first half initiated by a steal turned into a fast break by junior guard, Kaelin Crane, putting the Grizzlies up 6-5 a minute and a half into the bout. It would be all Falcons afterward, who increased their lead to upwards of 19 points with seconds left in the first half. When the halftime buzzer hit, it would be the home team who held their heads high with a comfortable 29-48 lead over the Grizzlies.

In the second half, it would be UTPB to kick things off again, capitalizing on a steal to score on a fast break after shedding almost 40 seconds of the half. Rylan O'brien would score a second three-pointer to rally the Grizzlies back into contention. O'brien would put up four more on top of two FG in the second half. The big energy would fail to be matched as the Falcons would tally up a 28-point lead over the Grizzlies with only four minutes left to play. The lead would be decreased to 19 points with a minute left on the clock, but the margin would be too large to capitalize, and the Grizzlies would leave the Lone Star State with two fallings in the young season.

The Grizzlies would struggle from beyond and within the three-point line, going 26-60 with a FG percentage of just under 44%. After a 5-23 night beyond the line in West Texas, Adams State would go 10-29 with a 34.5 three-point percentage. Grizzlies' strong points look to be off turnovers, scoring an identical 18 points off turnovers against UTPB.

Freshman Rylan O'brien would show out this evening, going 7-13 beyond the 3pt-line, and putting up a strong 10-19 field goals on the day. O'brien would also be a strong suit defensively, obtaining 6 total rebounds and four steals in the bout. The freshman guard looks to take off this season as he continues to prove himself worthy of the starting-collegiate role.

Behind O'brien came junior guard, Kaelin Crane who would go 5-8 in field goals, and 4-6 in free throws. Standing at 6'5" Crane looks to continue being a defensive weapon in the paint, racking up six total defensive rebounds, and 27 points through the weekend.

Senior returner, Rickey Norris played a major roll this afternoon, racking up a solid four rebounds and two blocks on the day. Norris looks to continue making waves on all ends of the court as he did last season, putting up 6 points, going 3-5 within the three-point line.

Grizzlies look to open up the second week of the season next Friday in the Fort Lewis tournament in Durango, Colorado, opening up against Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Eagles at 5:30PM.