A total of eight games- four men's and four women's- will be played over the two days as the Grizzlies welcome six visiting teams from five different states for what should be some good early season action. The generous support of the ACVB, 1st Southwest Bank, Alamosa State Bank and San Luis Valley Federal Bank is footing the bill for the hotel rooms for the visiting teams, which like their fans, are sure to spend money in the community throughout their stay.
Action begins at 1 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday. The Grizzly women, picked to win the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference title, play each night at 6 p.m. while the new-look ASC men's squad will play both nights at 8 p.m.
New Mexico Highlands, Oakwood (Ala.) and Tennessee Temple will join the Grizzly men in the 4-team classic-style format affair while Cameron (Okla.), Northern New Mexico and Western State round on the women's field.
Friday's schedule begins with a 1 p.m. men's match-up between New Mexico Highlands and Oakwood. The Cameron and Western State women will then do battle at 3 p.m. while the Grizzly women will face Northern New Mexico. The Grizzly men then cap the first day with a tilt against Tennessee Temple.
Saturday's slate will begin with a women's contest between Northern New Mexico and Cameron. The New Mexico Highlands and Tennessee Temple men will then square off at 3 p.m. The ASC women and men will then play Cameron and Oakwood, respectively.
Tickets are also a bargain and are just $6 adults, $4 for students and $2 for children per day for an all-day pass allowing fans to watch up to four games. As is normally the case, ASC students and Grizzly Club members will be admitted free with a valid ID.
Fans that cannot make the games in person can still follow the action with a single-game or season pass subscription to AmericaOne (formerly B2 Networks) or via live stats, accessed by clicking here.
All four of the Grizzlies' contest can also heard live on KSPK-FM (104.1 in Alamosa) or via the internet at www.kspk.com. KWSB will also have coverage of both of the Western State games online at www.kwsb.org.
A complete schedule and breakdowns of the competing teams can be found below.
A tournament website has also been set up and can be found by clicking here.
Tournament Schedule
Friday, November 19
1 p.m.- New Mexico Highlands vs. Oakwood (Men)
3 p.m.- Cameron vs. Western State (Women)
6 p.m.- Adams State vs. Northern New Mexico (Women)
8 p.m.- Adams State vs. Tennessee Temple (Men)
Saturday, November 20
1 p.m.- Northern New Mexico vs. Western State (Women)
3 p.m.- New Mexico Highlands vs. Tennessee Temple (Men)
6 p.m.- Adams State vs. Cameron (Women)
8 p.m.- Adams State vs. Oakwood (Men)
Women's Team Capsules
Adams State (1-1)
The host Grizzlies enter the Bankers Classic after splitting two regular season games in Hawai'i last weekend. The Grizzlies fell to Hawai'i Pacific 92-72 on Saturday but bounced back to beat Chaminade 55-42 on Sunday afternoon.
Senior guard Vera Jo Bustos (Las Vegas, N.M.), the RMAC Preseason Player of the Year and last year's Bankers Classic MVP, led the Grizzlies in total scoring averaging 13.0 points per game on the trip but was not the leading scorer in either game. Junior Chloe Cable (Glendale, Ariz.) had that honor in Saturday's contest with 14 points while junior Kelsie Kruger (Alamosa, Colo.) had the same in Sunday's contest. Kruger, who was on last year's Bankers Classic All-Tournament Team, also averaged 6.5 rebounds per game and was a combined 9-for-18 (50.0 percent) from the field.
Meanwhile, Kendra Coveal (Albuquerque, N.M.), who joined Bustos on the Preseason All-RMAC team, averaged a double-double during the trip averaging 10.5 points and 11.0 rebounds per game.
The Grizzlies were an impressive 11-3 last season and won a NCAA Division II era (1992-93/Present) school-record 21 games last season.
Cameron (1-1)
The Aggies also enter the weekend with a 1-1 mark after defeating Texas A&M-International 76-64 last Friday before falling to Newman (Kan.) by a 75-70 count on Saturday. Both games were at home in Lawton, Okla.
The Lone Star Conference squad, under the direction of coach Tom Webb, a former student assistant coach of Grizzly head coach Kelly Kruger while at Southwest Minnesota State, had the same four players in double figures in both games, a group led by junior guard Nicole Pendarvis and senior guard Josie Stewart, who averaged an impressive 18.1 points per game last season for the 2009-10 edition of the Aggies that went 9-18 overall and 5-9 overall. Pendarvis averaged 17.5 points and 5.5 points per game during the weekend while Stewart tallied 22 points and nine rebounds in the win over Texas A&M-International before finishing with 12 points in the 5-point loss to Newman. She also paces the squad with her 7.0 rebound per game average.
Alexis Williams and Sabelle Diata, listed at 6-foot-1, were also in double figures with 12.5 and 12.0 point per game averages over the weekend.
Northern New Mexico (0-5)
The NAIA Division II Eagles, who will making their second straight appearance in the Bankers Classic, are still looking for their first win of the season. Freshman Nisa Duran, who stayed in her hometown of Espanola to play for second-year coach Christian Jost and the Eagles, is averaging 17.3 points per game. She is also second on the squad with her 4.8 rebound per game average.
Meanwhile, sophomore Aujaney Chandler is pacing the squad in rebounding with her 7.3 carom per game average.
Western State (0-0)
The Mountaineers have yet to begin the regular season but did play a pair of exhibition games against NCAA Division I opponents earlier this month. They fell to Big 12 member Colorado 93-62 on Nov. 5 and then dropped a 109-62 to Pac 10 foe Arizona two days later.
Junior guard Nikki Trujillo scored 18 points in each game to lead the Mountaineers while sophomore 6-foot guard Katie Hall recorded 14 points and nine rebounds against Arizona.
Fourth-year coach Latricia Trammell's squad was picked eighth in the RMAC Preseason Coaches' Poll and is coming off an 11-17 overall, 9-10 season that ended in the quarterfinal round of the RMAC Tournament. Brooke Pendergraft has also been selected to the Preseason All-RMAC team.
Men's Team Capsules
Adams State (1-0)
The Grizzlies started the regular season with an 89-77 road win at Northern New Mexico on Tuesday night. Junior newcomer Marqus Richards (Los Angeles, Calif.) and sophomore returner Jack Osborn (Hobart, Tasmania, Australia) each tallied double-doubles as new coach Louis Wilson got his Grizzly career underway with a victory. Richards had 22 points and 11 boards while Osborn recorded 14 points and 10 rebounds, both new career-highs.
The Grizzlies also received 16 points from Deray Wilson (Anchorage, Alaska) and used coach Wilson's high-pressure defensive system to record 17 total steals, the most for any Grizzly squad in 14 years. However, the Grizzlies did commit 33 turnovers helping Northern New Mexico come back from as many as 18 points down in the second half to within a single possession before Adams State closed out the victory.
The Grizzlies, who have nine newcomers, all junior college transfers, on the 2010-11 roster, also played tight exhibition games against both Utah and Boise State earlier in the month and had four players in double figures against the Utes before Shayar Lee (Phoenix, Ariz.) registered 20 points in the Nov. 9 contest at Boise State.
New Mexico Highlands (0-0)
The Cowboys have yet to begin the regular season but are coming off their second straight 20-win season and qualified for the NCAA Division II Tournament last season after winning the RMAC West Division crown in 2009.
Third-year coach Joe Harge was hit hard by graduation but does have the services of returning starter Mindaugas Markevicius, who averaged 10.9 points per game while ranking ninth in the RMAC last season for both 3-pointers made and 3-point field goal percentage.
The Cowboys claimed exhibition wins over University of the Southwest (N.M.) and Northern New Mexico by 89-81 and 86-72 scores and have been picked seventh in this year's RMAC Preseason Coaches' Poll, two spots higher than the Grizzlies.
Oakwood (Record Unknown)
Not much is known about the Oakwood University Ambassadors, who hail from Huntsville, Ala. The school of just short of 2,000 students is affiliated with the Seventh-day Adventist Church. They are members of the United States Collegiate Athletic Association and won that organization's national title in 2008.
The Ambassadors, under the guidance of head coach Tony McGinnis, dropped a 69-46 decision to traditional NAIA power Cumberland (Tenn.) on Monday but had claimed an 83-81 overtime win on Oct. 30.
Tennessee Temple (0-5)
The Crusaders, still looking for their first win of the campaign, are coming off a 75-70 setback at Virginia Intermont on Tuesday night and fell by a 90-46 margin at NCAA Division I Middle Tennessee State last week. Head coach and athletic director Jeff Lee played 16 men in the latter game and received 18 points from Leonard Lewis, a 6-foot-4 senior guard who had transferred from St. Bonaventure.
The Chattanooga based institution is a member of the National Christian College Athletic Association and went 14-15 last season.
Visit ascgrizzlies.com for the latest news and info on Adams State College Athletics.
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