Moniak-led Grizzly attack nets 95-70 win

Senior David Hull matched a season-high with 17 points in ASC's 90-75 win on Thursday night.

Box Score

ALAMOSA, Colo.— A balanced offensive effort from a sharp-shooting Adams State College men’s basketball squad propelled the Grizzlies to a season-high 95 points on Thursday evening as ASC claimed their second victory in as many days with a 95-70 win over the visiting New Mexico Highlands University Cowboys in Plachy Hall. All but two players put points on the board for the Grizzlies while four starters notched double-digit efforts in the win.

ASC improved to 6-10 overall and 5-4 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, while the Cowboys slipped to just 2-14 overall and 2-7 in league action.

Senior Roman Moniak (Sacramento, Calif.) tallied 22 points on 11-of-11 shooting from the free throw line to lead all scorers. Fellow senior David Hull (Belen, N.M.) drained a trio of first-half 3-pointers en-route to a season-high-matching 17 points, while Larry Charles, Jr. (Tucson, Ariz.) and Rajshad Anderson (Lewisville, Texas) added 16 and 13 points, respectively. Anderson also dished out five assists and pulled down seven rebounds.

The Grizzlies controlled the game from the start, dominating both the inside and the running game. ASC claimed a 46-28 edge in points in the paint and an emphatic 14-2 victory in fast-break points, while holding the Cowboys to just a 28.1 percent shooting effort from beyond the arc. NMHU did manage nine treys on the night, but took 32 of their 66 total shots from 3-point territory.

The Grizzlies, however, were content to opt for short, high-percentage shots while also converting on 30 of 38 free throws after NMHU committed 27 total fouls in the contest.

The Cowboys got 21 points from Anthony Fuller and another 13 from David Omoghan, but were unable to jump-start the rest of their offense.

ASC bolted out to a 9-point lead after the first five minutes of action and built that lead to as many as 20 late in the half before heading into the break leading 50-32.

The Grizzlies immediately jumped back out to a 20-point lead, then surpassed that mark on a pair of Anderson free throws with 15:42 left in the game. NMHU eventually cut their deficit to 16 points with 10:25 left to go, but the Grizzlies would have none of a heroic comeback, as they immediately ran their lead back to the 20-point mark.

Solid free throw shooting sandwiched around some spectacular fast-break plays, including a couple of crowd-pleasing dunks from Moniak and reserve forward Russ Murray (El Cerrito, Calif.), sealed the win for the Grizzlies, who are now off to a 2-0 start in RMAC West Division play.

ASC will now face a tough road week, traveling to Colorado State University-Pueblo on Monday before taking on arch-rival Western State College in Gunnison, Colo. on Friday. Both games are slated to tip-off at 8 p.m. and can be heard live on KSPK-FM, 103.5 in Alamosa or online at www.kspk.com. Monday’s contest will also be aired on KSPK-TV.