ALAMOSA, Colo. – The Adams State Men's Basketball team prepares to go on the road for the second straight weekend as they travel to Druango for the Fort Lewis Skyhawk Basketball Tournament. The Grizzlies come into this weekend at 0-2 on the year and are looking for a bounce back trip, coming off of losses to West Texas and UT-Permian Basin in Texas last weekend.
 
The Grizzlies are still in search of their identity, and hope to find it with their stellar guard play. Friday against West Texas, they got a boost in scoring from graduate-senior Juwan Green, as the guard registered 20 points in 29 minutes of action. Junior transfer Kaelin Crane also logged a nice performance in the loss, tallying 13 points on 5 of 6 shooting. The two fresh faces hope to bring a much-needed scoring boost to the team the rest of the way in the 2019-2020 season.
 
On Saturday against UT-Permian Basin, it was freshman star Rylan O'brien who had a big night, scoring 27 points and catching fire from long range and burying seven threes. O'brien hopes to continue his hot streak and be a big contributor on offense for the Grizzlies this season. While Kaelin Crane was Juwan Green's sidekick on Friday on the offensive end, he again put in solid work alongside O'brien on an otherwise tough game for the Grizzlies with 14 points on 5 of 8 from the field.
 
Players who are not highlighted as much in the box score for either game, but are sure to be key cogs in the 2019-2020 Grizzlies' success are returners Szymon Walczak and Rickey Norris. Both players are and have been in the past, great two-way players who flex their muscle particularly on the defensive end and on the glass. Norris, who was in the top-10 in all rebounding categories in the RMAC a season ago, had 7 rebounds Friday night and another 4 in 30 minutes of action on Saturday. Walczak tallied two steals both nights, as well as a strong rebounding night on Saturday, where the guard grabbed 5 boards (3 defensive, 2 defensive) in the loss. The two look to lead a young and unproven bunch to success this season, and the examples they set with their consistency and hard work could determine what we see from younger players in games to come.
 
Coach Russ Caton's bunch will look to band together this weekend and get back on the winning path in Durango against two non-conference opponents in Embry-Riddle and Northern New Mexico. The Grizzlies in this weekend's tournament will face Embry-Riddle Friday at 5:30 PM from Whalen Gymnasium at Fort Lewis College, before taking on Northern New Mexico Saturday at 5:30 at the same location.