ALAMOSA, Colo.—The 2020-21 home portion of season will officially commence for the Grizzlies on Wednesday evening as the Grizzlies are set to host CSU-Pueblo. The game is the season-opener for the ThunderWolves and the second game for the Grizzlies
 
Game Information
Teams: Adams State (1-0, 1-0 RMAC) vs. CSU-Pueblo (0-0, 0-0 RMAC)
Date: Wednesday, December 9, 2020
Tip-Off: 5:30 p.m.
Location: Alamosa, Colo.
Site: Plachy Hall (2,500)
Series Record: CSU-Pueblo leads, 25-60.
 
Coaches
ASU: Russ Caton, 63-81 (6th Season, ASU); 115-164 (12th Overall)
CSU-Pueblo: Matt Hammer, 11-17 (2nd Season)
 
Media Coverage (Click Links)
Live Video: RMAC Network (https://portal.stretchinternet.com/adams/)
ASU Radio: KSPK-FM, 104.1 FM (http://stream.kspk.com:8000/live.mp3)
Live Stats: UCCS Website (https://asugrizzlies.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary)
 
Fast Start
Adams State will play their first home game of the season on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. when they host the CSU-Pueblo ThunderWolves. The ThunderWolves will be making their season debut.
 
Adams State returns just three letterwinners from last year's squad that finished with an 8-20 record and an 13th place finish in the RMAC. Cole Arceneaux returns for his third season with the Grizzlies where he averages 2.2 points per game. Kaelin Crane return for his second year as a Grizzly. He averaged 13.9 points per game. Rylan O'Brien averaged 12.1 points per game in his first season last year and will be an impact for the Grizzlies this season.
 
The Grizzlies opened the season like the flash as they defeated the UCCS Mountain Lions 85-78 on Saturday night. Adams State led 17-0 early before allowing UCCS to close the gap late. The Grizzlies won the game with stellar defense down the final stretch to start the season 1-0 for the first time since Nov. 15, 2014 when the Grizzlies defeated Northwest Christian University 92-64.
 
The RMAC Player of the Week will be announced on Wednesday and Adams State saw Frederick Jackson nominated. Jackson complied a double-double with 31 points and 11 rebounds. He helped propel the Grizzlies to an early 17-0 lead to defeat the 3rd ranked team in the coaches' poll and shot 14-of-17 from the field and a perfect 3-of-3 from the free throw line. Of his rebounds ten were defensive boards. He also added two assists, two steals and four blocks.
 
Adams State played two exhibition games during Thanksgiving Week. The Grizzlies took on NCAA Division I Weber State on Wednesday and fell 88-60. On Thanksgiving, the Grizzlies played at NCAA Division I Utah Valley In the game that they lost 100-75.
 
The Grizzlies were selected to finish 13th in the 2020 RMAC preseason Coaches' poll. ASU received 45 points while the second straight year, Colorado School of Mines has been tabbed as the RMAC Men's Coaches Poll preseason favorite. The Orediggers received 13 first-place votes and a total of 195 points.
 
Russ Caton returns for his sixth year at the helm and brings in assistant coach Trend Blackledge who capped off a nine-year professional basketball career in Japan and a stellar career at Division I Marquette University.
 
About CSU-Pueblo
Colorado State University Pueblo was picked to finish ninth in the poll, while senior Bryce Sanchious and junior David Simental were named the ThunderWolves' players to watch.
 
After finishing 11-17 overall and 9-13 for 11th place in the league standings last year, the first season with Matt Hammer at the helm, the Pack were picked to finish ninth (98 points) by the conference coaches.
 
CSU Pueblo's roster is made up of four student-athletes from last year's roster, four transfers and seven freshmen.
 
Series History vs. CSU-Pueblo
The ThunderWolves hold a overall 60-25record over Adams State in the series. They also hold a 36-8 record at Massari Arena and a 24-17 record inside Plachy Hall.
 
The two teams have never met on a neutral court but the ThunderWolves have won both postseason games.
 
CSU-Pueblo has two 11-game winning streaks over the course of the storied series. Adams State has two three-game winning streaks. The Grizzlies last win was on Dec. 7, 2018 (86-74) while CSU-Pueblo won last season's game on Dec. 6th, 72-60.
 
Broadcast Information
Wednesday's home-opener against CSU-Pueblo will be broadcast live on the RMAC Network (https://portal.stretchinternet.com/adams/) and will be produced by UCCS. Since spectators will not be allowed to attend the game in person, fans can tune in and follow along with live stats (https://asugrizzlies.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary).
 
In addition, KSPK-FM will once again serve as the official radio station of Adams State Athletics. Brian Loch will call Wednesday's action for Adams State.
 
Fans can access the game online (http://stream.kspk.com:8000/live.mp3) or on the radio dial KSPK can be heard on 100.3 in Colorado Springs, Alamosa and the San Luis Valley, 104.1 in South Fork and Trinidad, and 102.3 in Pueblo and Walsenburg.
 
Up Next
The home slate is set to continue Saturday, Dec. 12 and Friday, Dec. 18 when they host South Dakota Mines and Colorado Mesa University, respectively. Saturday's game is scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m.
Due to the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 in the San Luis Valley, all Adams State University home games in 2020 will be played without spectators. ASU Athletics will continuously re-evaluate the policy as local and state guidelines change.