Senior Eric Miller matched a career-high by scoring a game-best 21 points. He was 8-for-12 from the field and also tallied six rebounds.Grizzlies fall at CSU-Pueblo despite season-best shooting effort
February 12, 2010Miller matches career-high with 21 points
PUEBLO, Colo.— Despite a career-high matching 21 points from senior Eric Miller (Aurora, Colo.) and another 17-point effort from true freshman Nick Fox (Colorado Springs, Colo.), the Adams State College men’s basketball team gave up 57 second-half points and dropped a 88-76 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference game to the host Colorado State University-Pueblo ThunderWolves, Friday here before a Massari Arena crowd of nearly 3,330.
The Grizzlies, who were tied with the Pack at 31 at the half, shot a season-best 52.8 percent (28-53) from the field but committed 19 turnovers while forcing just seven ThunderWolf miscues as they dropped their 10th straight game while falling to 4-18 overall and to 1-13 in the RMAC. A balanced CSU-Pueblo side had four players in double-figures and another three who scored seven or more points as the ThunderWolves improved to 13-8 overall and to 8-6 in the RMAC, good for a single-game lead over idle Western New Mexico for the fourth and final West Division playoff spot.
The 6-foot-8Miller came off the bench and hit all four of his field goal attempts and the same number of free throws in the first half scoring a dozen points before the break.
With his team down 16-9 early on, Miller sparked what proved to be an 11-0 Adams State run with a slam dunk. Robby Hanzlik (Denver, Colo.), who finished with 11points and six rebounds, also had a 3-pointer in the stretch before freshman Jack Osborn (Hobart, Tasmania, Australia) hit back-to-back buckets after two Miller free throws had tied the game while giving the Grizzlies a 20-16 lead.
However, the ThunderWolves would score the next seven points to go up 23-20 before Forrest Becker (Albuquerque, N.M.), who also finished in double-figures with 10 points, tied the game with a trey setting up what was an evenly played final five plus minutes of the first half.
The early minutes of the second half were also evenly played before 3-pointers by Chris Busch and Marc Williams put the ThunderWolves on top for good.
The Grizzlies would get within five on two following occasions thanks to Miller buckets but could not get any closer as the ThunderWolves scored 30 points in the game’s final 10 minutes to win by a dozen.
Fox, who played just five minutes in the first half, dominated the game’s second stanza as he scored 15 of his points while hitting five of seven second-half field goals.
Both teams fared well offensively as the Grizzlies shot at an incredible 63.2 percent (12-19) from the field in the first half before the Pack heated up in the second half hitting on 17 of 29 (58.6 percent) shots in the second.
Both teams were 8 of 19 (42.1 percent) from beyond the arc although the ThunderWolves converted the Grizzly turnovers into 27 points, the true difference in the game.
The Grizzlies, eliminated from RMAC Shootout contention by results earlier in the week, will now play their final road game of the season on Saturday at 8 p.m. visiting New Mexico Highlands (15-7, 9-5 RMAC). The Cowboys, winners of six straight, bested Fort Lewis 96-85 on Friday night in a battle of regionally-ranked foes.
The Cowboys are ranked 10th in the NCAA Division II Central Regional poll while Fort Lewis sits at No. 6.
Tip-off in the Cowboys’ Wilson Complex can be heard live on KSPK-FM (104.1 in Alamosa) and via the internet at www.kspk.com.
