Time is now for Grizzly hoopsters
ASC to host Colorado Mines, Colorado Christian this weekend
ALAMOSA, Colo.— Although there are still nearly two full months left in the season, the time is now for the Adams State College men’s basketball team as the Grizzlies look to jump right back into the thick of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Shootout chase as they are primed to host two key conference games in Plachy Hall this weekend.
The Grizzlies, 4-9 overall and 1-4 in conference play, host Colorado Mines (5-8, 2-3 RMAC) Friday at 8 p.m. and then will turn around to take on Colorado Christian (4-7, 3-2 RMAC) on Saturday at the same time.
Third-year coach Mark Murdock’s squad will then go on the road to face Fort Lewis (10-3, 4-1 RMAC) on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. before finishing up a stretch of four games in eight days on Saturday, Jan. 23 at Western New Mexico (4-8, 3-2 RMAC).
All of the Grizzlies’ games can also be heard live on KSPK-FM (104.1 in Alamosa) and via the internet at www.kspk.com. Subscription-based video coverage can also be seen on B2 Networks while live statistics for all of the Grizzlies’ home games can be found by clicking here.
Although the Grizzlies have lost six of their last seven games and each of their last four conference match-ups, the Grizzlies are just two games out of a spot in the RMAC Shootout as of Thursday and could be back in position by the end of the weekend.
Although the wins have not been coming as often as Murdock would like, the young and somewhat banged-up Grizzlies have been close and have lost four of their last five games by 10 or fewer points. Murdock can also be pleased that the Grizzlies will be at home for the first time since Dec. 12 after his team played four games over the holiday break traveling to Minnesota, Wyoming, New Mexico and most recently to Colorado Springs.
Freshman sensation Nick Fox (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and sophomore Robby Hanzlik (Denver, Colo.) have been leading the way for the Grizzlies as of late.
Fox, a 6-foot-7 forward from Sand Creek High School, made the most of his hometown return last Saturday scoring 30 points while grabbing 16 rebounds in the Grizzlies 76-66 setback to UC-Colorado Springs. That came on the heels of a 21-point, 10-rebound double-double at Northern New Mexico on Jan. 4, the Grizzlies’ lone win as of late.
In the process, Fox took over the team-scoring lead and is now averaging 16.4 points per game. The RMAC Freshman of the Year candidate, who now has three double-doubles this season, is also second in the RMAC in rebounding at 7.1 per game and is pouring in 24.3 points per game in conference play, also the second best mark in the conference.
Hanzlik, who has led the team in scoring throughout the season, is just behind and is scoring 15.5 points per game. He tallied 22 in the Grizzlies’ win over Northern New Mexico and also leads the team in both assists (44) and steals (29) and is shooting an impressive 84.8 percent (39-36) from the free throw line to rank fourth in the RMAC. His 3.3 steal per game average is tied for third best in the conference.
Junior Seth Heinbaugh (Prescott Valley, Ariz.) has also been faring well this season and is third on the team in scoring at 10.1 points and second on the team in rebounding at 5.1 caroms per game. He had 12 points and six boards against the UC-Colorado Springs Mountain Lions.
The Colorado Mines Orediggers have also been struggling to get wins as of late and have just one victory in their last eight. However, one of those game last Friday over Colorado-State Pueblo. They have also had a lot of near misses as their last five losses have come by just a combined 14 points.
They are also just outside of a RMAC Shootout qualifying position entering the weekend but are just a half-game behind Nebraska-Kearney and Chadron State in the East Division standings.
6-foot-6 sophomore center Dale Minschwaner is the top Oredigger statistically and is averaging 17.8 points and 7.8 rebounds per game and leads the RMAC in the latter category. Junior guard Sean Armstrong is second on the team in scoring at 13.9 points per game and leads the Orediggers with 43 assists. Gordon Galloway, a 6-foot-6 sophomore, is also averaging in double figures and is scoring 10.2 points per night.
Although Colorado Christian has a similar overall record to the Grizzlies, the Cougars have been going in the opposite direction lately winning each of their last three games while getting into second place in the East Division standings with their 3-2 conference mark.
The Cougars, who lead the RMAC by canning nine 3-pointers per game, have two scoring stars in 6-foot-7 Jobi Wall and 6-foot-11 Justin Neuhaus. Wall has made a conference-high 36 treys coming into the weekend is averaging 18.2 points per game while Neuhaus is averaging 16.7 points while leading the team in rebounding at 6.8 boards per contest. He also has a whopping total of 25 blocked shots and was named as the RMAC East Division Player of the Week after helping guide the Cougars to home wins over Colorado State-Pueblo and Preseason RMAC favorite New Mexico Highlands last week.
Related Item: RMAC Statistics
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