RMAC Men's Basketball Week 12 Release

Grizzlies return home for NMHU, WNMU

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Click here to view the 12th Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) men’s basketball release of the 2011-12 season. Monday’s release includes league standings, RMAC/Baden Players of the Week, recent results, upcoming games, news & notes from around the league and a look at the polls.

The Grizzlies, who now sit all alone at third in the RMAC, will return home this weekend after an impressive 4-game road trip during they posted a 3-1 mark.

ASC split the first two game of the road trip in Denver, topping Regis 83-52 before getting edged by then 4th-ranked Metro State, 52-51. But it was a quick bounce back for Adams State, which returned to action for mid-week non-conference victory, 103-57, over Northern New Mexico. The road trip concluded on Saturday as the Grizzlies beat league rival Fort Lewis in Durango for the first time since Feb. 3, 2004.

Against the Skyhawks, junior Kaimyn Pruitt (Los Angeles, Calif.) led the way, scoring 17 points in the 70-69 win. Not only did he lead ASC in scoring, but Pruitt also hit the game-winning layup with 17 seconds left in the game, and blocked a layup attempt by FLC’s Matt Morris with less than 10 seconds left to seal the deal.

Prior to the start of their trip, the Grizzlies were just 1-3 on the road this year, but have upped that mark to 4-4 while being a perfect 10-0 when playing at Plachy Hall or at a neutral site.

The successful road swing has also moved the Grizzlies solely into third place and just 1 ½ games back of No. 3 Metro State and 2 ½ back of 11th-ranked Colorado Mines, which now leads the league. ASC entered last weekend tied with Nebraska-Kearney for third, but the Lopers lost two and now own a mark of 9-6 in conference, behind the Grizzlies at 10-4 in league play. The Roadrunners also dropped two games over the weekend, falling to 12-3 in the RMAC, while Mines won both and sits at 13-2 against league opposition.

This weekend the Grizzlies are back at home and looking to avenge a pair of road losses from the beginning of January against New Mexico Highlands and Western New Mexico on Friday and Saturday.

Just like the first meeting of the year between ASC and the Cowboys, Friday’s match-up will feature the top two scoring offenses in the RMAC, but this time around it’s NMHU ranked No. 1 with 80.5 points per game and the Grizzlies close behind at 79.0 per game. Last time around, New Mexico Highlands’ Momcilo Latinovic bucketed 35 points, hitting four 3-pointers and 15-of-17 free throw attempts.

WNMU will challenge the Grizzlies as the league’s third-ranked team in steals, swiping 8.2 per game. The Mustangs also own the RMAC’s second-leading scorer in TJ Riley, good for a cool 17.7 per game. He accounted for 21 in the last meeting between the two teams.

The Cowboys and Mustangs will begin the weekend with identical 8-7 league records, and are locked in a tie for sixth in the standings.

Men’s action Friday and Saturday night will get underway at 8 p.m., immediately following 6 p.m. women’s games. Action all weekend can be followed by checking out live stats, listening live at www.kspk.com (104.1 FM in Alamosa), or by watching the game live on subscription-based America One.

Additionally, Saturday’s women’s and men’s games against Western New Mexico will be the first to two KSPK televised games this season, and will air on a tape-delayed broadcast.