ST. GEORGE, Utah - It was another back-and-forth night for Adams State Men's Basketball as the team dropped a nail-biter, 71-70, on the road to Dixie State on Saturday.
The Grizzlies (7-13, 7-8 RMAC) entered the contest just one game of eighth in the conference standings. The Trailblazers (11-8, 9-6 RMAC) were in that final slot entering the game. The win put the Trailablazers into a tie for fifth, while the Grizzlies now sit tied for ninth and still one game back of eighth.
Neither team managed to grab a double figure lead during any point of the game as both only held a lead by more than three possessions. Both teams finished the game shooting over 40%. Adams State shot 43.9% (25-57), while Dixie State shot 44% (22-50)
The Trailblazers came out shooting the ball well going 7-7 to start the game. Their hot shooting help them grab a 6-0 lead within the first two minutes of action and within the first five minutes they had their largest lead of the night at seven points, 14-7.
Despite the fast start, the Grizzlies soon found their flow on offense and kept the game within reach through the first part of the half.
John Dewey cut the lead to three points, 17-14, with a layup at the 12:07 mark of the half.
The Grizzlies tied the game 57 seconds later when
Justice Augmon drove the lane for a layup and drew contact for the foul call. He completed the old school three-point play to tied it at 17-all.
The first Adams State lead came at the 9:29 mark on a
Rickey Norris three-pointer. It did not last long as the Trailblazers hit a three of their 12 second later own to keep the game deadlocked at 20-20
The two squads went shot-for-shot the rest of the way through trade the lead. Down the stretch Dewey was superb from three-point range nailing three triples in the final six minutes of play to give the Grizzlies a 38-36 lead at the break.
Dewey led the first half charge with 21 points to lead all scorers. As a unit the Grizzlies shot 50% on 14-28 made shots. Dewey was 7-11 from the floor and a perfect 4-4 from beyond the arc and went 3-3 at the free throw line.
Like they did in the first half, both teams came out and traded shots to keep things interesting the entire time. An 8-2 surge from Adams State to start the half gave them an eight-point lead, 46-38, in the first two minutes of the second half.
The Trailblazers responded with an 8-0 run to tie the game at 46-46 with just over 15 minutes to play. The Grizzlies countered it immediately with a 12-3 run to grab their largest lead of the night at nine points, 58-49.
Shemar Johnson got the run started with a layup at the 14:57 mark of the second half as the run lasted just over four minutes.
Despite the surge, Dixie State slowly chipped away at the Adams State lead and stayed within single digits the whole time. Adams State managed to stay in front of Dixie State up until there was just over two minutes left in regulation.
The Trailblazers tied the game with 2:02 on the clock on a layup to bring the score to 68-all. The Dixie State layup also drew contact from Adams State and a three-point play gave the home team the 69-68 edge.
Late turnovers forced the Grizzlies to foul but struggles from the Trailblazers at the free throw line kept the came close. The Trailblazers were just 2-6 in the final 36 seconds but the Grizzlies were just 2-4 in that span as well.
Norris took all four shots at the line for Adams State and managed to tie the game at 70-70 but missed the second opportunity to give the team the lead late. Dixie State kept the visitors from scoring on last second opportunity to hold on for a one-point win.
Dewey led all scorers with a game-high 33 points. He finished 50% shooting on 12-24 made shots while going 6-8 from three-point range. He also had a game-high four assists. Norris was the only other player in double figures with 11 points and led the team in rebounds with five.
Matt Conway led Dixie State in scoring with 23 points 5-10 shooting for 50% and had a double-double with 12 boards. He was also 2-2 from deep and shot 14 free throws, making 11. Julien Ducree added 19 points to round out the double figure scoring for the Trailblazers. He was 70% from the floor on 7-10 shooting to go along with six rebounds and two blocked shots.
The Grizzlies will look to stay in the hunt for an RMAC Tournament berth as they return home for the next four games. They get the final homestand of the season started next Friday, Feb. 8 against Regis. Tip-off is at 7:30 p.m. inside Plachy Hall Gym.Â
