Grizzlies top OPSU in season-opener

ASC nails 11 treys in 85-77 win

Sophomore forward Seth Heinbaugh recorded a career-high 24 points while recording his third career double-double.

Box Score

GOODWELL, Okla.— Sophomore forward Seth Heinbaugh (Prescott, Ariz.) recorded a career-high 24 points and seven assists to go along with a nine rebounds to lead the Adams State College Grizzlies to an 85-77 road win in their season-opener, Saturday night at Oklahoma Panhandle State University.

Heinbaugh was also a perfect 4-for-4 from 3-point land and a solid 9-for-13 from the floor as he nearly recorded his third career double-double in what was the Grizzlies’ first road win over the Aggies in their NCAA Division II era (1992-93/Present) history.

Playing an away game to begin the season for the first time since 1996 and for the first time here in the Oscar Williams Field House since Nov. 29, 2002, the Grizzlies used a 13-4 run over the first 3:32 of the second half to break a 40-40 halftime deadlock while building a 9-point lead before the Aggies chipped away at the lead eventually taking one of their own on a Aaron Jackson jumper that put the hosts up 66-65 with 5:35 left.

The Grizzlies, who defeated OPSU 84-78 in a neutral-site meeting last season, then committed one of ASC's 19 turnovers before a defensive rebound by Heinbaugh and a Seth Amos (Philadelphia, Pa.) jumper put the Grizzlies back up for good.

Amos, who had 18 points overall, also hit another bucket less than a minute later before the Aggies’ Luke Ogden scored two of his team-high 22 points from the line to close the deficit back to a point.

The Grizzlies then went on a 6-1 run, highlighted by a Heinbaugh 3-ball, to go up 75-69 with just 2:19 left.

The Aggies would claw back to within  two with 44 seconds left before Amos hit two free throws and a jumper.  ASC point guard Adrian Davis (Lubbock, Texas) then sealed the game with four free throws in the final moments.  Davis, who hit five 3-pointers, iin just seven attempts finished the night with 19 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.  He and Heinbaugh never left the floor.

The Grizzlies hit 11 3-pointers as a team, the team’s best single-game performance in exactly 21 months, and shot 55.0 (11-20) percent from beyond the arc and 47.7 percent (31-65) from the floor.  They also had a solid 42-33 rebounding advantage.

ASC, which also got nine points off the bench from Erick Seaman (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and another eight from sophomore newcomer Nate Ingbretson (Castle Rock, Colo.), who got the start along with Amos, Davis, Heinbaugh and Vitor de Zoppa (Sorocaba, Sao Paulo, Brazil), the only holdovers from last year’s team that won an NCAA Division II era school record 18 games.

The Aggies, who blocked seven shots while coming up with 10 steals, had three players in double figures as well but were held to a 4-for-18 (22.2 percent) 3-point shooting effort.

ASC now returns home to Plachy Hall for three home games, starting Tuesday night at 7 p.m., against perennial powerhouse West Texas A&M.  The Grizzlies then take on Division III Colorado College and Cal State-Dominguez Hills in the Adams State Bankers Classic on Friday and Saturday, respectively.

All of the Grizzlies’ games can be heard live on KSPK-FM (104.1 in Alamosa) and via the internet at www.kspk.com.  Fans can also follow all of ASC’s home games with live statistics on the Grizzlies’ official website (www.ascgrizzlies.com) and with subscription based online video streaming thanks to B2Networks.