Juinor Seth Heinbaugh scored 17 points on a 5-for-6 field goal shooting effort helping the Grizzlies snap an 11-game slide with Friday's win over nationally-ranked Mesa State.Grizzlies shock RMAC, regional-leading Mesa State
February 19, 2010Grizzlies shoot 68.4 percent in second half to post 87-84 win over No. 15 Mavericks
ALAMOSA, Colo.— True freshman Nick Fox (Colorado Springs, Colo.) matched his uniform number with 21 points while sophomore guard Robby Hanzlik (Denver, Colo.) hit five treys en-route to a 20-point effort as the Adams State College Grizzlies shocked the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference with an 87-84 upset win over Mesa State College’s, the conference and NCAA Division II Central Region’s top team, Friday night here in Plachy Hall.
The Grizzlies, who snapped an 11-game overall slide with the win over the nation’s 15th-ranked Mavericks, shot an impressive 68.4 percent (13-19) in the second half and 57.4 percent (27-47) from the field overall as they spoiled an impressive 37-point effort from Maverick senior Mike Dominguez. The Grizzlies, who claimed their first win over a team ranked in the National Association of Basketball Coaches Poll in third-year coach Mark Murdock’s tenure at ASC, improved to 5-19 overall and to 2-14 in the RMAC.
The Mavericks, who have led the regional rankings for the last four weeks, lost their second straight game and fell to 20-3 and to 14-2 in the loop as they failed to clinch a RMAC West Division at least for one more night.
The Grizzlies hit a season-high matching nine 3-pointers on the night and were also an impressive 24-for-30 (80.0 percent) from the charity stripe, two areas where the Grizzlies really shined down the stretch allowing them to hold on to the win. ASC, which has now bested the Mavericks in four of the last five years at home, led by as many as 12 points in the first half and were up 37-30 at the break despite a late Dominguez 3-pointer, one of seven he hit throughout the contest.
The Mavericks would then score seven of the second half’s first nine points to close within a bucket before back-to-back 3-pointers by Seth Heinbaugh (Prescott Valley, Ariz.) and Hanzlik triggered a 9-0 Grizzly spurt that allowed the lead to grow back to double-figures at 48-37.
The Grizzlies still led by a similar 11-point margin with 12:28 to go before the Mavericks quietly came back to tie the game at 65 on a Dominguez trey followed by a Michael Baer tip-in with 7:05 to go.
The Grizzlies then hit three combined free throws on their next two possessions to retake a 68-65 lead before Brian Kenshalo answered with one of his four 3-pointers, knotting the game once again.
The Mavericks then took their first lead since the 18:50 mark of the first half when Dominguez sank another 3-pointer with 5:27 to go and eventually built a 75-71 lead, their largest of the night, with a Dominguez jumper with 3:49 left.
However, the Grizzlies would come back to go on top 79-75 thanks to an 8-0 run, sparked by a hard-fought Jack Osborn (Hobart, Tasmania, Australia) layup, moments before clutch Hanzlik and Brad Hernandez (Westminster, Colo.) 3-pointers.
Mesa State, which hit a total of 11 3-pointers throughout the night, would not go away and tied the game at 79 on another Kenshalo 3-pointer with 1:16 left before Fox hit two free throws after a Lance Fite foul with 1:06 left.
With his team down 81-79, Dominguez then missed a shot that was rebounded by Fite, who lost control of the ball in the tussle. That and an ensuing foul let the Grizzlies increase their lead to 83-79 with 41.9 seconds left when Fox, who was 5-for-6 from the line, nailed two more free throws.
Hanzlik then tallied one of his career-high equaling six steals and nailed two more free throws when Dominguez was called for the ensuing foul after his turnover.
Down 85-79, the Mavericks would not give up and cut the gap in half with a Kenshalo 3-pointer from the corner before Fox hit one of two free throws increasing the Grizzlies lead to four (86-82).
With 3.9 seconds to go, Dominguez then drew contact from Heinbaugh from beyond the arc and hit two of the ensuing three free throws to close the gap to 86-84 but missed his last attempt.
Senior Eric Miller (Aurora, Colo.) grabbed the ensuing rebound and hit one of two free throws with 3.1 seconds left before a Sean Flohr 3-pointer at the buzzer rimmed off allowing the Grizzlies to hold on to the upset win.
The Grizzlies had four players in double-figures as Heinbaugh tallied 17 points, thanks in large part of his 5-for-6 six shooting effort from the field, highlighted by a season-high three 3-pointers. Miller also tallied 14 points, including an even 10 from the free throw line.
Dominguez led three Mavericks in double-figures as Fite tallied 15 points while Kenshalo scored a dozen, all from beyond the arc. The Mavericks also grabbed 18 offensive rebounds compared to just six for the Grizzlies but finished with only a slight 32-27 total rebounding advantage thanks in large part to the Grizzlies’ season-best shooting effort.
The Grizzlies, who snapped a 15-game slide in RMAC home games, will remain at home for their final three of the season including Saturday night’s 8 o’clock tilt with arch rival Western State (5-18, 2-14 RMAC). The Mountaineers dropped an 84-70 decision to Fort Lewis on Friday in Durango.
The Skyhawks, who are now 11-5 in RMAC play still have an outside shot at the RMAC West Division title but must beat the Mavericks on Saturday.
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