SALT LAKE CITY- A balanced Adams State College men's basketball team put up quite a fight before succumbing 84-74 to the Utah University Utes in exhibition NCAA inter-divisional play before a crowd of 7,279, Friday night here in the Huntsman Center.
The Division II Grizzlies, playing for the first time under the direction of new head coach Louis Wilson, had four players in double figures and three others score seven or more points but did not have quite enough to stop Will Clyburn, Josh Watkins and the rest of the Division I Runnin' Utes, who used an 11-0 run over 3:21 in the second half to build a 60-50 lead after the Grizzlies went up 50-49 on a Shayar Lee (Phoenix, Ariz.) 3-pointer with 13:39 left.
Falling behind by 15 points later, the Grizzlies then battled back to within six with 4:42 left but would get no closer as Utah shot 50.0 percent from the field in the second half to claim the 10-point win after leading by just four (38-34) at the break.
Clyburn, a former teammate of the Grizzlies' Marqus Richards (Los Angeles, Calif.) while at Marshalltown (Iowa) Community College in 2008-09, tallied 28 points, 11 rebounds and three blocked shots for the Utes while Watkins, the MVP of the NJCAA National Championship Tournament while at Howard (Texas) College, tallied 22 points.
Richards, who was 8-for 8 from the free throw line, and Jason West, Jr. (Las Vegas, Nev.) each had 12 points to lead the Grizzlies. Rayland Robinson, Jr. (Bryan, Texas) also had 11 points while Lee chipped in 10.
Richards and sophomore returnee Jack Osborn (Hobart, Tasmania, Australia) each had six rebounds to pace the Grizzlies who were outscored 44-32 in the paint.
The Grizzlies had six different leads in a back-and-forth first half and hit on nine of their first 15 shots to take a 27-25 lead on a West, Jr. 3-pointer before the Ute defense clamped down holding the Grizzlies to just two makes in their next 13 shots throughout the final eight minutes of the half.
However, the valiant Grizzlies continued the battle and tied the game at 40 on a Robinson, Jr. jumper just 2:16 into the second half and again at 42 on a Lee tip-in less than a minute later.
The Grizzlies then went up 45-44 on a Deray Wilson (Anchorage, Alaska) 3-pointer and took their last lead of the night on Lee's 3-pointer before a Clyburn 3-ball and four straight points by 7-foot sophomore center Jason Washburn, who finished with 15, aided the Utes' big run.
Washburn also had seven rebounds and scored all but two of his points in the second half.
The Grizzlies' high-pressure defense was able to come up with 13 steals while forcing 19 total Utah turnovers. However, the Utes went to the line 39 times, making 25 (64.1 percent).
The Grizzlies, who were guilty of 16 turnovers, were 18-for-26 (69.2 percent) from the line but were just 26-for-64 (40.6 percent) from the field and 4 of 14 (28.6 percent) from 3-point territory.
The Grizzlies will play another exhibition game on Tuesday (Nov. 9) when they face Division I Boise State. Tip-off for that contest in the Broncos' Taco Bell Arena has been changed to 7:30 p.m. and can be heard live on KSPK-FM (104.1 in Alamosa) and via the internet at www.kspk.com.
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