Grizzlies to host RMAC Shootout Doubleheader

First 200 ASC students to gain free admission, T-shirt

ALAMOSA, Colo.— Adams State College athletic department officials have announced ticketing plans for Tuesday night’s Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Shootout games in Plachy Hall.

The Grizzlies, who will be hosting a women’s game at 6 p.m. against Mesa State and a men’s game against New Mexico Highlands at approximately 8 p.m., have never had both teams at home in the playoffs during their NCAA Division II era (1992-93/Present) history before.

Both ASC squads are seeded fourth and will be facing their fifth-seeded opponents.

The first 200 ASC students with valid identification will receive free admission to the doubleheader and a T-shirt complements of the Grizzly Club.  Those tickets will be handed out, starting at 4:30 p.m., Tuesday.

Other students will be charged $3, per RMAC policy.  Senior citizens (65 & up) will also be charged $3 while adults can gain admission for $6.  Children 5 and under will be admitted free.  Since this is an RMAC Championship event, Grizzly Club or other passes will not be honored.  However, Grizzly Club members can still obtain a seat in the Grizzly Club section on a first come, first served basis with their membership pass.

Both games can be heard live on KSPK-FM (104.1 in Alamosa) and via the internet at www.kspk.com.  Live statistics for both games will also be available on the Grizzlies’ website and can be accessed by clicking here.

Fans that cannot attend in person can also watch the games online via AmericaOne.  (Exact link TBA).  The cost of that option will be $8 per game and previously purchased season passes will not be honored.

The Grizzly women, 20-8 overall and 15-7 in RMAC play, have now earned the right to host a RMAC playoff game for the second straight year.  They fell 70-61 to Colorado State-Pueblo in last year’s RMAC Shootout Quarterfinals, the first women’s play-off game in Plachy Hall since 1992.

The Grizzlies, who have now made the RMAC Shootout in each of the last four years, will be looking for their first post-season win in the NCAA Division II.

Mesa State, the tournament’s fifth seed, last made the 8-team field in 2008 and will be in search of their first post-season win since 2003.

The teams split the regular season series as Mesa State claimed a 66-63 win on Dec. 20 in Plachy Hall before the Grizzlies answered with a 73-57 win on Friday night in Grand Junction.

The team’s last post-season meeting came in 1994 and went the Mavericks’ way by a 79-64 margin in Grand Junction.

The Grizzly women were ranked eighth in the NCAA Division II Central Regional Rankings heading into the weekend and have now won eight straight games.  Mesa State was ranked ninth in the region heading into the weekend before falling to the Grizzlies.  However, they responded to defeat the region’s top-ranked Fort Lewis Skyhawks on Saturday preventing the Skyhawks, ranked third in the country, from grabbing a share of the RMAC’s regular season title.

The Grizzly men also split their season series with their upcoming opponent defeating the Cowboys 96-84 on Jan. 8 in Plachy Hall before being tripped up 90-81 on Feb. 4 in Las Vegas, N.M.

Both teams finished the regular season with identical 19-7 overall and 15-7 RMAC records.

The Grizzly men will be making their first Shootout appearance since 2008 and will also be hosting a game for just the second time in their NCAA Division II era history.  The Grizzlies last hosted a game in 2007 and defeated UC-Colorado Springs by a 98-83 score en-route to a RMAC Shootout Championship game and NCAA Division II Tournament appearances.

The Grizzly men were ranked ninth in the region coming into the weekend while New Mexico Highlands was ranked eighth.  The Cowboys fell at Western New Mexico by a 93-83 count in their only game of the weekend.

They advanced to the RMAC Shootout Championship game last year and have qualified for the tournament in each off the last two years.  However, the Cowboys have not opened on the road since 2005.

The teams have not faced each other in the post-season during the Grizzlies’ NCAA Division II era.

The winners of Tuesday’s quarterfinal games will advance to Friday’s semifinal round, which will be played in the Colorado State Fairgrounds Events Center in Pueblo.

Saturday’s Championship games will also be played there and will be broadcast live on Altitude2.

Related Item: 2011 RMAC Shootout Central