The Grizzlies, who committed 33 turnovers in a 89-77 win at Northern New Mexico on Tuesday, were guilty of just 11 in Friday's win, helping them overcome a 35.9 percent (14-39) first half and 41.3 percent (31-75) shooting effort.
Marqus Richards (Los Angeles, Calif.) led the way pouring in 20 points off the bench. Shayar Lee (Phoenix, Ariz.) and Seth Heinbaugh (Prescott Valley, Ariz.) were also in double figures, scoring 12 points each in what new Grizzly head coach Louis Wilson described as a grinding type of win.
Ed Pellot-Rosa led the Crusaders with 13 points. Jarrett Smith also had 11 points and eight rebounds but was guilty of 11 of the Crusaders' 28 total turnovers.
The Grizzlies missed their first 12 shots of the game but remained within two possessions for nearly all of the first half thanks to their solid ball security that saw the Grizzlies guilty of just five first half turnovers.
The Grizzlies did fall behind by seven points (29-22) with 5:02 left in the first half but quickly answered with a 7-0 run, highlighted by a Deray Wilson (Anchorage, Alaska) 3-pointer to tie the game for the first time since the tip at 29.
Richards then answered a Mike Upshire, Jr. bucket to tie the game again at 31 before two Wilson free throws with 2:13 to go in the half gave the Grizzlies their first lead of the night.
Lewis Leonard then hit a 3-pointer for the Crusaders who went back up 34-33 before a Lee trey with 1:04 to go in the half helped the Grizzlies take a 38-34 lead into the break.
The Crusaders did not go away and used a 7-2 run to regain the lead with 17:01 to go. They then extended that advantage slightly to four points on a Pellot-Rosa 3-pointer, before three Richard buckets on the next four possessions helped spark the Grizzlies on their big run, also highlighted by Lee and Robby Hanzlik (Denver, Colo.) 3-pointers.
Leading by 14 at the end of the run, the Grizzlies were never threatened again and used another big 16-1 spurt, capped by a Lee 3-point play to go up by 25 points (87-62) with just 2:24 left.
Lee and Wilson also added six assists each for the Grizzlies while Lee tallied a team-high nine rebounds. Heinbaugh also added eight.
Lewis Leonard paced the Crusaders on the boards with nine caroms as TTU posted a 49-41 advantage in that category.
The Crusaders also fared well from beyond the arc hitting 6 of 10 (60.0 percent) throughout the night. However, they were just 21-for-37 (56.8 percent) while having a busy night at the free throw line.
The Grizzlies also were busy at the line, making 20 of 28 (71.4 percent) of their charity shots as the game featured 52 total fouls, including 36 in the second half alone.
Earlier in the day, New Mexico Highlands claimed a convincing and season-opening 97-67 win over Oakwood (Ala.) in the tournament's first game. Thomas Manzano led four Cowboys in double figures with 19 points while Marcus Fitts tallied the same number to lead the Ambassadors, who fell to 2-5 on the campaign.
Saturday's men's action will begin at 3 p.m. with New Mexico Highlands taking on Tennessee Temple. The Grizzlies then return to the court looking for their first 3-0 start in their NCAA Division II (1992-93/Present) history against Oakwood at 8 p.m.
Visit ascgrizzlies.com for the latest news and info on Adams State College Athletics.
No comments:
Post a Comment