In what was a tough year for the Adams State Grizzlies Men's Basketball team, each week, you knew that they were talented enough to beat anyone on the schedule if they played to their potential. This was never more evident than on February 1^st, when the 19^th-ranked Dixie State Trailblazers came to town, in what is our 4^th-best moment of the season.
 
Dixie State and Adams State are polar opposite schools. Dixie State, based in St. George Utah is one of the largest Division II schools in the country, and their athletic program is moving up to Division I, starting in the Fall of 2020. Their student enrollment is massive, and they have enjoyed great success in recent years in numerous sports. Adams State is a small school, based in a small, tight knit community, and the university reflects its community. As an alumnus and former ASU student-athlete myself, I always felt at home at Adams State with small class sizes and how it seemed as though every student-athlete from all sports knew each other. On this night, it was David vs. Goliath with the top-ranked Trailblazers (RMAC) ranked inside the top 20 of the national polls came to ol' Plachy Hall for a conference bout.
 
The Grizzlies entered the game having lost two-straight, close games. Having lost all of their big men, the Grizzlies were forced to play small all year long, with their biggest body being just 6 foot 5. In warmups, it was impossible not to notice the size and depth of the Trailblazers, who entered the game as winners of six in a row for a reason. On this night, however, Adams State's three headed monster of sharpshooter Rylan O'brien, gritty point guard Szymon Walczak, and explosive forward Kaelin Crane came into the game ready for war, and they showed it.
 
A two-point game at half, the Grizzlies felt confident as to how their defense was playing against Dixie, who had a tremendous size advantage. Coach Russ Caton could see that the Grizzlies' quickness was working on offense, and he opted to go with five backcourt players for the majority of the second half. The five key players were guards Rylan O'brien, Juwan Green, Cole Arceneaux and Szymon Walczak, with wirey but athletic forward Kaelin Crane becoming the inside presence.
 
The Grizzlies hung tough in the second half, trading punches with the Trailblazers for much of the period. They shot a tremendous 63% from the field and 40% from three-point range in the half, with the majority of those coming from freshman Rylan O'brien who hit 5 from deep, and led all scorers with 23 points.
 
While O'brien played a terrific game in his own right, the hero of the night was guard Szymon Walczak, who exploded late in the half as the Grizzlies nursed a four-point lead. Walczak, who was not known for his offense, took on the role of closer and put the offense on his back, putting together a scoring nine-point fury that was capped off with a fall away three-pointer with the shot clock running down to give the Grizzlies an 11-point lead late.
 
The Grizzly defense was incredible on the evening, as five players recorded multiple steals toward a team total of 12 altogether. Plachy Hall was rocking as the clock wound down to zero, with the Grizzlies having just knocked off the best team in the RMAC. They were undermanned, undersized, but refused to be out-willed, and they sent the 19^th-ranked Trailblazers back to St. George with their first loss in nearly a month.
 
This game was a signature win for the 2019-20 Grizzlies who had an up and down season, but sitting courtside statting the game, it is a game that I will never forget. There is absolutely nothing like a great upset in college basketball with the crowd rocking and the team feeding off of the energy of the arena, and this is why I chose this game as the number four moment on the countdown. Tune in tomorrow for number three!