Jensen-led Grizzlies falter to WSC, 77-70

Senior Wes Jensen recorded his third career double-double and his first at home with a 16-point, 13-rebound performance.

Box Score

ALAMOSA, Colo.— The Western State College Mountaineers played their spoiler role very well, as they hit 15 3-pointers to overcome a 16-point, 13-rebound effort by Adams State College senior Wes Jensen (Molalla, Ore.) and take a 77-70 win out of ASC’s Plachy Hall on Saturday night in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference men’s basketball action. The Grizzlies, who had won three straight over WSC heading into the contest, were looking to make a strong push in the RMAC West Division title hunt, but slipped to 10-12 overall and 9-6 in conference play with the loss.

WSC moved to 10-13 overall and 5-10 in the conference, getting a trio of double-digit scoring efforts in the process. Lorens Knudsen led all scorers with 20 points while Carleton Goggins had 10 and Justin Avalos added 12 points off the bench.

The Grizzlies were led in scoring by senior Roman Moniak (Sacramento, Calif.), who had 19 points on 3-of-5 shooting from long range. Rajshad Anderson (Lewisville, Texas) chipped in a dozen in a reserve role for the Grizzlies.

Jensen’s 13 rebounds matched a career-best for the 6-foot-6 forward. He also dished out a career-high six assists, nearly half of ASC’s total of 15 in that category.

After a tight nip-and-tuck session in the early going of the second half, the Grizzlies used a 10-0 run late in the period to open up some breathing room. Moniak’s first trey of the game sparked the run, which was then capped by an Anderson 3-pointer before WSC’s Avalos ended a three and a half minute scoring drought for the Mountaineers with a 3-pointer of his own.

The Grizzlies took a slim 38-32 lead into the halftime break, but promptly exploded out to a 13-point advantage at 47-34 just two minutes into the second period.

The Mountaineers, however, were not going away, going on a 16-0 run of their own, capped by three Knudsen free throws with 13:11 left in the game to go up 50-47. ASC battled back to force three ties and take the lead twice before a Goggins three pointer broke a 61-61 tie and put the Mountaineers up for good with 2:55 left to play.

Goggins, Knudsen and Matt Pennetti then converted on 8-of-8 free throws in the final minute with an old-fashioned 3-point play from reserve Krys Hall sandwiched in the middle, sealing the contest for the Mountaineers, who fended off a late Jensen trey and a trio of driving layups from Anderson, David Hull (Belen, N.M.) and Marcus Mortensen (Cortez, Colo.) to claim the win.

ASC dominated the inside game, taking a 30-14 edge in points in the paint, but couldn’t overcome the sharp-shooting outside game of the Mountaineers, who also had a 21-13 advantage in points off turnovers. The Grizzlies committed 15 such miscues, while forcing WSC into just ten.

The Grizzlies are now two full games out of first place in the RMAC West Division as fellow title contenders Fort Lewis College and Mesa State College each won their respective contests. ASC will remain at home to face both teams next weekend, taking on the Mavericks of Mesa State on Thursday before hosting the FLC Skyhawks on Saturday. Both games begin at 8 p.m. in Plachy Hall and can be heard live on KSPK-FM, 103.5 in Alamosa or online at www.kspk.com.