ALAMOSA, Colo. – In a year that has been tumultuous for the Adams State Grizzlies Men's Basketball team, their Achilles heel was that they were unable to gain the advantage late in close games. This was not the case Friday night against Fort Lewis, as the Grizzlies were able to pull out the victory thanks to a heroic, last second coast to coast drive from guard Juwan Green that won the game for the Grizzlies at the buzzer. They conclude their season on a high note with their sixth conference victory, and move into next year hopeful that they will be able to fix what went wrong this year, and have a successful 2020-21 campaign.
 
With just eight healthy bodies, the Grizzlies' seven-man rotation got hot early on, and was looking for the knockout punch at the start of the second half. Fort Lewis countered them with everything they had, as big man Riley Farris had one of his best nights of the season with 36 points and 14 rebounds, and was aided by teammate Will Wittman who finished his night with 24 points, as the two helped mount a 16-point comeback to even take a two-point lead in the second half.
 
With the pressure on, the Grizzlies turned to seniors Rickey Norris and Juwan Green to bail them out and win the game for them. Norris finished with 19 points and 15 boards, while Green led all Grizzly scorers with 25, as the two put their team on their back down the stretch to close out the victory.
 
With the score nodded at 92 with just seconds remaining, Adams State was able to force a Skyhawk turnover to retain possession with just over four seconds remaining. From there, Coach Russ Caton Drew up a play to get his speedy point guard, Juwan Green, the ball with a free lane to the basket. Green drove down the far sideline with the ball, and laid it up and in with 1.1 seconds remaining and gave the Grizzlies the two-point lead. Fort Lewis had one last Hail Mary effort off of the inbound, but defensive star Rickey Norris swatted the pass down to give Adams State the two-point victory.
 
The grizzlies 2019-20 season will be one that reflected their toughness and willpower, and no game embodied this more than their victory Friday night over conference rival Fort Lewis. The Grizzlies were up big, lost the lead, then fought their way back to secure the victory, and never once faltered under the pressure of the moment. In their final act, the Grizzlies put on perhaps their best fight of the entire season. They now look to 2021 with high hopes, and hope the they can sustain the culture of toughness that they built throughout this year, for seasons to come.