Box score
DURANGO, Colo. — Relying on tenacious second half defense, Adams State (5-0 overall, 3-0 in the
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) rallied from a 12-point second half deficit to beat Fort Lewis (5-1, 2-1) 82-76 tonight in Whalen Gymnasium in a battle of RMAC unbeatens.
The Grizzlies outscored Fort Lewis 46-28 in the second stanza after trailing 48-36 at intermission. ASU's rally actually started with two minutes left in the first frame, trimming FLC's 18-point lead to 12 by halftime.
“I thought in the second half that what we needed to do was play great transition defense and we didn't,” said 17th year FLC head coach
Bob Hofman. “They got about three or four easy baskets on transition in the second half — which is what they did the last two minutes in the first half. They fed off their defense and played great offense.
“I hand it to Adams State,” Hofman added. “They came out with a lot of intensity in the second half. They were a lot more ready to play than we were in the second half, and I take the blame for that. It's a 40-minute game and I thought they did a great job of increasing their energy level. When you have more energy than the other team, you get more calls.”
Still, Fort Lewis seemed in control of the game for much of the second half, maintaining a double-digit lead until James Lake's fastbreak dunk ignited a 13-2 ASU run over a four-and-a-half minute span that gave the Grizzlies their first lead of the game at 68-67 with 8:04 remaining.
The teams went back-and-forth with FLC going on a mini 3-0 run to tie the score at 74-74 with 2:26 remaining on a sequence that saw
Marcus Ayala hit one-of-two free throws, FLC win an offensive rebounds and
Mike Matthews knock down both free throws later in the same possession.
Back-to-back fastbreak layups by Lake and Norvell Arnold gave the Grizzlies a 78-74 lead with 30 seconds remaining and ASU sealed the win by making all four free throws down the stretch.
Lake led Adams State with 19 points and was one of five Grizzlies to score in double figures. Arnold (14), John Jackson (12), Justin Kauffman (11) and Kaimyn Pruitt (11) also hit double digits. Pruitt was a force inside, grabbing 13 rebounds (six offensive) and blocking five Skyhawk shots before fouling out.
Ayala led the Skyhawks with 16 points off the bench, while
Nick Tomsick chipped in 15.
Alex Herrera scored 13, grabbed nine rebounds and had a pair of blocks.
Fort Lewis was effective from behind the arc in the first frame, shooting 50 percent (7-of-14) from long range, including a 4-for-4 first half three-point shooting effort by Ayala. The Skyhawks only went 2-of-10, though, from three-point range in the second stanza.
Adams State finished the game shooting 46.3 percent from the field (25-of-54) and 50 percent on treys (7-of-14). The Grizzlies also outrebounded FLC 39-34.
The Skyhawks shot a respectable 42.6 percent from the field (23-of-54) and 37.5 percent (9-of-24) from long range.
Fort Lewis continues its three-game pre-holiday homestand next week when it hosts two undefeated RMAC teams. Colorado Mesa (7-1, 4-0) visits Whalen Gymnasium at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 16, while Western State (5-3, 4-0) comes to town at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 17.
The games will be played on Sunday and Monday rather than the normal Friday/Saturday rotation due to FLC's graduation ceremony next Saturday in Whalen Gymnasium.
