Osborn double-double, Wilson's 22 lead Grizzlies past Western
ASC has now won seven straight at home
ALAMOSA, Colo.— Sophomore Jack Osborn (Hobart, Tasmania, Australia) scored a career-high 20 points on an 8-for-9 shooting effort and tallied his second double-double of the campaign while Deray Wilson (Anchorage, Alaska) added a game and career-high 22 points, 16 of which came in the second half, as the Adams State College Grizzlies cruised to a 90-74 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference win over arch-rival Western State College, Sunday night in Plachy Hall.
The Grizzlies, who led by 24 with 6:34 left, have now seven straight home games, including all three of this season, and are 6-1 overall and 3-1 in RMAC play, good for fourth place in the overall RMAC standings.
The Mountaineers, who had five players in double figures but four who fouled out in the foul-plagued contest, fell to 1-9 overall and to 0-5 in the loop with their sixth straight overall loss.
The Grizzlies also received a dozen points from Shayar Lee (Phoenix, Ariz.) and a game-high 11 rebounds from Seth Heinbaugh (Prescott Valley, Ariz.), just a point away from his third double-double of the campaign, in the 16-point win. Jamiko Verner (Denver, Colo.) also added a game-high seven assists for the victors.
The Grizzlies used a 13-2 run in the middle stages of the first half to build a 30-17 lead and led by 11 (50-39) at the break. Shooting a solid 55.6 percent (20-36) from the field in the opening stanza, the Grizzlies then extended their lead to 20 (62-42) just six minutes into the second half before a 8-1 Mountaineer run, highlighted by an Andrew Zehnder 3-pointer, helped the Mountaineers get within as few as 11.
However, the Grizzlies did not relent as Osborn scored the first four points of what ended up being a 15-2 run, capped by back-to-back Wilson 3-pointers.
The Mountaineers countered that spurt with Casey Jackson 3-pointer with 6:09 to go, but watched Osborn slam home a response as the Grizzlies led by 23 before cruising down the stretch.
A total of 60 fouls were called in the contest, including 32 on the Grizzlies. However, only Grizzly (Lee) fouled out while the Mountaineers lost four players, including Martin Graham, who was forced to check out with 13:04 to go. Graham did have 10 points and five boards in a productive 19 minutes, thanks in large part to his 4-for-5 shooting effort.
However, many of the other Mountaineers were off on their shooting as WSC shot just 41.5 percent (22-53) from the field overall.
Zehnder did score 15 points to lead the Mountaineers, nine of which came from the free throw line. He was just 2-for-9 from the field. Joey Stukes also added 14 points for the Mountaineers but was just 4-for-10 from the floor. Meanwhile, Weylan Towns and Casey Jackson joined Graham in scoring 10 points each.
The Grizzlies finished the night shooting 50.0 percent (33-66) from the field and dominated the boards, especially in the second half, finishing the night with a 46-33 glass advantage. The Grizzlies also had just six first half turnovers and finished the night with 17, many of which came in a somewhat sloppy second half for both teams.
The Mountaineers were guilty of 22 total turnovers, including 13 in the first half.
The Grizzlies will remain at home for a Monday night encounter with Mesa State to close out the 2010 portion of the season. The Mavericks, winners of three straight overall, claimed an important 75-67 road win at Fort Lewis in Durango on Friday and are now 7-2 overall and 3-2 in RMAC play.
Tip-off in Plachy Hall is slated for 8 p.m., following a 6 p.m. women’s clash and can be heard live on KSPK-FM (104.1 in Alamosa) and via the internet at www.kspk.com.
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