Solid shooting allows Grizzlies to overcome turnovers, OPSU
ASC off to 4-1 start
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.— The Adams State College Grizzlies shot 64.6 percent (31-48) from the field to overcome a season-high 23 turnovers and an athletic Oklahoma Panhandle State University team as they improved to 4-1 with a 84-78 win over the Aggies on Saturday at the Hyatt Place Mountain Lion Classic, being held on the campus of the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs.
The setback dropped the Aggies to 1-2 on the young season.
The Grizzlies, who defeated Colorado College 87-61 on Friday afternoon, had five players in double figures for the second straight day as they recorded 25 assists throughout.
Senior guard Travis Carr (Canon City, Colo.) led the way as he drilled four 3-pointers while scoring a career-high 17 points. Sean Amos (Philadelphia, Pa.) had 16 points off the bench for the second straight game while Rece Hampton (Greenwood, Miss.) had 13 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Vitor de Zoppa (Sorocaba, Sao Paulo, Brazil) and Marcus Mortensen (Cortez, Colo.), who had seven assists, added 11 and 10 more points, respectively.
The Aggies, who shot 53.6 percent (15-28) in the first half before slipping to 38.9 percent (14-36) in the second, were led by 23 points from Lachawn Anderson. Fredd Durr added 15 while Basil Leslie poured in 13 off the bench. Will Stephenson had 11 points and a team-high eight rebounds to aid the cause.
The Aggies had a big 18-9 edge in offensive rebounding and had a 36-29 advantage in total caroms. However, they went cold in the second half as the Grizzlies went on a 14-3 run over 5:29 to take a 62-57 lead on a Mortensen steal and Amos layup with 9:31 to go.
The Aggies would not go away quietly and clawed to within one (66-65) before three Amos points and a Larry Charles, Jr. (Tucson, Ariz.) trey from the left corner put the Grizzlies in front 72-65.
OPSU would not be able to overcome that deficit in a game that included 10 lead changes and nine tie scores.
Neither team led by more than five in the first half until an 8-2 run that included back-to-back Carr treys and a Hampton dunk put ASC in front 47-31 with 2:38 left in the period.
The Aggies came back to tie the game on an Anderson 3-pointer with 1:31 to go before a Hampton follow gave the Grizzlies a lead they would hold into halftime.
The Aggies then came out and scored nine of the first 10 points of the second period to take a 49-44. They would go on to build that lead to as much as six before the big Grizzly run led to the ASC victory.
The Grizzlies had a chance to wrap things up much earlier but struggled from the free throw line hitting just 51.9 percent (14-27) of their shots from the charity stripe. ASC was a solid 8-for-16 (50.0 percent) from long distance.
The Grizzlies next play against 4-1 Minnesota State, Mankato at the Fort Lewis-hosted Skyhawk Basketball Classic in Durango next Friday. Tip-off is at 6 p.m. and can be heard on KSPK-FM (103.5 & 104.1 in Alamosa) and via the internet at www.kspk.com.
OPSU visits Eastern New Mexico on Wednesday night.
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