ALAMOSA, Colorado — In a Thursday night thriller, the Grizzlies hit a go-ahead shot to beat Fort Lewis 95-93 to end Fort Lewis's undefeated conference streak. The win is the Grizzlies fifth straight win and puts them at a record of 15-7(9-5 RMAC), while also moving the Grizzlies into sole possession of fourth place in conference with just six games remaining in the conference regular season.
Diving into tonight's game, it was truly as close of a game as you can have between two highly competitive teams. Both teams played well enough to take the win tonight, but with the help of their home crowd, and the great performances from their 5 seniors the Grizzlies outlasted Fort Lewis to take the 2-point win.
Looking at each team's performance, both teams shot the ball at an efficient rate, and both teams turned the ball over consistently. For the Grizzlies, they finished the night with a 47.1% shooting percentage, while shooting 25.8% from behind the 3-point line, and 84% from the free throw line. Fort Lewis was not too far off this mark, as they finished the night with a 42.4% field goal percentage, while shooting 31.8% from behind the 3-point line, and 73.7% from the free throw line. Ultimately, with the game being this close, the difference maker was the Grizzlies ability to get to the free throw line more consistently. With 6 more free throw attempts, and 7 more makes, the Grizzlies were able to take advantage of the 21 personal fouls Fort Lewis committed to take the final edge in tonight's game.
Individually for the Grizzlies, they were led by their 5 seniors who all had impactful games to help lead Adams State to one of the biggest wins of the season. Leading the way for the Grizzlies was Dillan Baker, Luke Williams, and Wyatt Helming who all finished the night with over 20 points. Baker led the Grizzlies in scoring finishing the night with 24 on 8-15 shooting, while making 3 of his 9 3-point attempts and all 5 of his free throws. Following close behind was both Williams and Helming who scored 23 and 21 points respectively. For Williams, he finished the night 7-14 from the floor while finishing with the team lead in free throw attempts and makes, finishing the night 9-11 from the line. For Helming, he finished the night 9-16 from the floor, while making 3 of his 7 3-point attempts to collect his 21 points. Helming also finished with 14 rebounds and 4 assists to give him the double-double and a truly outstanding all-around performance. The two other seniors for the Grizzlies were Jarmell Johnson and Jaylen Alexander. Johnson, who hit the go-ahead layup in the final seconds of the game to put the Grizzlies up 95-93 finished the night with 18 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 assists, while Alexander finished with 6 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists. Overall, the five seniors accounted for 92 of the Grizzlies 95 points, 42 of the Grizzlies 46 rebounds, and 16 of the Grizzlies 19 assists giving them a night to never forget as a senior group of leaders.
Tonight's win was a truly special one for the Grizzlies as Fort Lewis was 11-0 in RMAC conference play and the Grizzlies were on a 4 game winning streak of their own. It not only extended the Grizzlies win streak but put an end to Fort Lewis's conference winning streak while also moving the Grizzlies into sole position of fourth-place in conference. With this massive win the Grizzlies will look to continue their winning ways as the RMAC regular season wraps up with just 6 games remaining. With a 9-5 RMAC conference record the Grizzlies will have a great opportunity to continue to move up the conference standings as the regular season wraps up in these final few weeks.
Up next for the Grizzlies will be Western Colorado University. The Grizzlies will have a week off before their matchup against Western Colorado as their next game will be next Thursday, February 12th in Gunnison, Colorado at the home of Western Colorado. The game will be played at 7:30 PM MST, being streamed on the RMAC network. For the Grizzlies, they will look to prepare over the next week as they plan on continuing their outstanding play of late, and look to win their sixth straight game to continue their hot play on the court.
