In what was the final game of the 2019-2020 season for the Adams State Grizzlies Men's Basketball team, the team's three seniors Juwan Green, Rickey Norris and Logan Longo were set to be honored prior to the game for their commitment to the program in their time as Grizzlies. The trio made up three of eight healthy bodies for the Grizzlies by the end of the year, and the team had endured a tumultuous final three weeks of the season, coming into the game losers of five straight.
 
I would be remiss not to mention what had happened prior to the men's game, as the Adams State women's team put together arguably their best performance of the season in their senior game, which knocked Fort Lewis out of playoff contention. The win was huge for Coach Green's program, and one that was a high stakes game for Fort Lewis that the ladies desperately fought to play spoiler for their conference rivals, and did.
 
The women's game set the stage for the men's game, as they showed that they could finish their season on a high note. The men came out firing on all cylinders with as mentioned before, just eight healthy bodies suited up. Their star inside player Rickey Norris, was a man on a mission this night, putting together his 4^th-consecutive double-double with 19 points and 15 boards, as well as three steals and two blocks. The performance in his final game as a Grizzly earned Norris RMAC Defensive Player of the Week, and the senior took home All-RMAC honors at the end of the season. Norris was the heart and soul of the 2019-20 season for the Grizzlies, and his effort and hustle helped the Grizzlies out to a 19-point lead late in the first half.
 
With the game being Fort Lewis' season finale as well, they refused to go quietly into the night in the second half. They came out with a furious offensive attack and made adjustments on defense to get back into the ballgame. Late in the second half, they had erased the Grizzly lead and went up by two points. Fans around the arena were anxious, hoping that the Grizzlies had a little bit of late game magic up their sleeve to come away with the victory.
 
That was when coach Russ Caton turned to point guard Juwan Green. Green had slashed the Skyhawks all night on offense with his speed and quickness that they seemingly had no answer for. Shockingly, with the game tied at 92 with under 10 seconds left, Fort Lewis chucked up a would-be go-ahead shot from deep and missed, giving the Grizzlies a chance to win the game in regulation. With six seconds remaining, Caton drew up a play that would get the ball to Green off the inbound with room to run and an open floor. The play was executed to perfection, and Green took the inbound pass and took it coast to coast for what appeared to be a buzzer-beating layup. The crowd (and me) went bezerk, as it appeared the Grizzlies had just won the game.
 
I was statting the game from the scorer's table. Being that I thought the game was over, I input the play into my computer, and threw my hands in the air, elated that the guys had pulled it off. The officials came over to me and our SID assistant Corri Zaiger who runs the replay, saying that they needed to take a look at the shot and told me to "calm down". Thank goodness I didn't get an administrative technical, because I would have had to explain to Coach Caton why his SID gave Fort Lewis another chance. Upon replay, the officials determined that there was a half of a second left in the game. This gave Fort Lewis one more opportunity for a desperation heave. The Adams State defense pressed up tight, and did not give the Skyhawks an opportunity to breathe, as the clock ran out. This time, I was able to celebrate legally, incredibly happy that my guys had at last, pulled it off.
 
What made the victory even sweeter was Rickey Norris' RMAC Defensive Player of the Week award that was announced the following Monday. He played so hard for that team all year long, and no player deserved it more than he did. For all that Coach Caton and the players went through this season fighting hard every single game, they earned that last victory of the season. Though they missed the playoffs for the first time in four years, it appears that the high-effort, winning culture of Adams State Basketball is still as strong as ever, and will be back next season. Tune into tomorrow for the #2 moment on the Week of Greatness Countdown.