Grizzlies get balanced effort in 84-67 season-opening win
Hanzlik tallies 18 to lead ASC over OPSU
ALAMOSA, Colo.— Sophomore Robby Hanzlik (Denver, Colo.), a former Division I player at the University of Maine, scored a game-high 18 points and led four Adams State College Grizzlies in double figures as they recorded a convincing 84-67 home and season-opening win over visiting Oklahoma Panhandle State University, Tuesday night here in Plachy Hall. The Grizzlies, who have now defeated the Aggies in each of the last two season-openers, have now started 1-0 in five of the last six seasons.
Adams State never trailed as true freshman Nick Fox (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and junior Seth Heinbaugh (Prescott Valley, Ariz.) scored a dozen points each. Fox, who came off the bench, also pulled down a game-high nine rebounds as the Grizzlies posted a 43-35 advantage on the boards. Junior Nate Ingbretson (Castle Rock, Colo.) was also in double-figures with 10 points off the bench.
The Aggies, who were also playing their first game of the season, received a team-high 14 points from Reggie Lassister and another 13 from Kevin Geofroy, who hit three 3-pointers while tallying 13 points overall.
The Grizzlies shot an impressive 51.4 percent (19-37) in the first half and 48.6 percent (35-72) overall as they jumped out to an 11-2 lead in the first 5:21 of the contest. Three different Grizzlies scored in that stretch as the hosts never looked back building a big 24-7 lead with 8:39 still to go in the first half.
The Aggies, who committed 19 turnovers while shooting just 38.5 percent (10-26) in the first half and 42.1 percent (24-57) overall did recover slightly and pulled to within 13 before another 17-7 extended Grizzly run put the Grizzlies up by 23 points with three minutes to go in the half.
The Aggies did get within 46-28 at the half and within 14 (58-44) on a Geofroy 3-pointer with 14:10 left but would get no closer as eight different Grizzlies scored in the second half that saw the Grizzlies build as much as a 24-point lead on a Fox tip-in with 2:44 left.
The victory was truly an all-around effort as nine different Grizzlies scored five or more points while all 11 ASC players saw action grabbed at least on rebound. Ten of the Grizzlies also recorded assists while senior guard Xavier Lewis (San Jose, Calif.) recorded four of the Grizzlies’ nine steals.
OPSU had just three as a team.
The Grizzlies turned the 19 Aggie turnovers into 29 points while OPSU was able to score just eight points off the Grizzlies’ 12 turnovers. Led by the 6-foot-5 Heinbaugh, the team’s leading rebounder in 2008-09 and the 6-foot-7 Fox, the Colorado Springs Gazette’s Player of the Year after his senior season at Sand Creek High School, the Grizzlies to a 54-32 edge in points in the paint.
The Grizzlies will look to continue their strong start this weekend when they Northern New Mexico and San Francisco State in the second annual Adams State Bankers Classic. Chadron State will also participate in the Friday and Saturday tournament and will face the same teams on opposite days at 3 p.m.
The Grizzlies’ 8 p.m. contests can both be heard live on KSPK-FM (104.1 in Alamosa) and via the internet at www.kspk.com.
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