Durango, Colorado — The Grizzlies fought hard but fell short in a Tuesday night loss to Fort Lewis, 101-82. The game was held at Whalen Gymnasium in Durango, Colorado, the home of the Skyhawks. The loss drops the Grizzlies to an 8-13 overall record and a 3-10 conference record.
Adams State was led by two of their big men John Harge and Wyatt Helming who scored 19 and 18 points respectively. John Harge shot the ball at a very efficient rate going 7-13 from the floor and 4-4 from behind the free throw line and showed fight on the defensive side of the ball collecting two steals. Harge dominated the first half scoring 17 of his 19 points before slowing down in the second half. Wyatt Helming made his difference at the free throw line going 10-12 along with collecting 10 rebounds giving him a double-double for the game. Unfortunately for the Grizzlies, Harge and Helming were the only two Adams State players to get into double figures for the game.
A tough first half set the Grizzlies back at halftime as they went into the second half trailing by 14 points. Adams State could never get the offense rolling during the first half shooting 16.7% from behind the arc, and 40.6% from the floor. Meanwhile, the Skyhawks were able to shoot 33.3% from behind the arc, making 4 3-pointers in the first half, shooting 88.9% from the free throw line, and collecting 16 of their 52 first-half points from the line.
The Grizzlies did show fight late in the second half by cutting a 25-point lead by the Skyhawks down to 16 points but unfortunately, it was too little as the Skyhawks were able to close out the game with good defense and another 16 free throws during the second half. Even with the Grizzlies showing great fight, the Skyhawks were still able to hold the Adams State offense to 1 three-pointer and 41.1% from the floor in the second half. Throughout the game, the Grizzlies' offense struggled with turnovers and the ability to play team basketball as they only collected 5 assists and turned the ball over 17 times. This was a big difference between them and the Skyhawks as the Skyhawks were able to collect a total of 22 assists and only 13 turnovers.
Ultimately, poor shooting by the Grizzlies was the true story of the night as the Grizzlies were held to 15.8% from behind the 3-point line. As well the Skyhawks were able to hold the Grizzlies' leading scorer Jude Tapia to only 7 points and 2-7 from the floor which was far off his season average of 16.2 points per game coming into the matchup.
Adams State will look to bounce back this Thursday as they gear up to play New Mexico Highlands at home here in Alamosa at 7:30 PM.
