ALAMOSA, Colorado – In a hard fought battle against Black Hills State, the Grizzlies fall 79-69 in a Saturday night home game. The loss drops the Grizzlies to 16-9(10-7 RMAC) and to a tie for fifth place in conference with Colorado School of Mines, and New Mexico Highlands. With just three remaining games, the Grizzlies will look to close out their season strong, securing their place in the RMAC tournament at the beginning of March. 

Diving into tonight's game, the story for the Grizzlies was strong defense with inconsistent offense. Offensively the Grizzlies could never get going as they only scored 69 points on the night. The Grizzlies 69 points was way off their season average of 86.6 as the Black Hills defense was able to keep the second best offense in the conference to only a 36.5% shooting percentage, and a 25.9% from behind the 3-point line. 

Defensively, the Grizzlies did a great job as they also held down the Black Hills State offense which was third in points per game average. The 79 points Black Hills scored for 5 points below their season average. On top of being able to hold Black Hills from scoring consistently, the Grizzlies forced 14 turnovers, which included 8 steals and 2 blocks. With just a little more consistent offense the Grizzlies could have easily come out on top with tonight's defensive performance. 

Individually, for the Grizzlies they were led by Jarmell Johnson, Luke Williams, Wyatt Helming, and Jaylen Alexander. All four men scored double-digits, with Johnson leading the way with a team high 19 points. Johnson also led the Grizzlies in rebounds collecting 9 to add to his great shooting night. Following the lead of Johnson was Williams, Helming, and Alexander who scored 16,13, and 11 points respectively. For Williams he also collected 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and a team high 3 steals on the night. Williams' strong defensive presence was a huge piece in the Grizzlies success defensively. For Helming, he finished with 8 rebounds along with his 13 points, and Alexander added 6 rebounds, and 3 assists to his 11 points. Between the four men they scored 59 of the Grizzlies 69 points, while collecting 28 rebounds, and 7 assists. 

Up next for the Grizzlies will be their final home game, this Saturday, February 21st, against Chadron State. Saturday's game will begin at 3 PM MST, and will be a great opportunity for the Grizzlies to bounce back in conference as Chadron State is currently second to last in conference. With a win the Grizzlies will put themselves one step closer to securing a playoff berth in the 2026 RMAC tournament. Come out and support the Grizzlies as they look to close out the 2025-26 regular season with a bang.