Grizzlies Sweep RMAC Foes in Plachy

Reggie Thompson
The Paw Print
Senior forward Seth Heinbaugh highlighted a winning weekend by reaching the 1,000 point mark Saturday night against conference rival the Colorado State University- Pueblo Thunderwolves in the Grizzlies’ 71-62 win.  The senior earned a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds in the game. Heinbaugh, who in his five seasons of eligibility played for three different head coaches, described his time here as somewhat of a “roller coaster” but was happy for it.
“It’s been a great experience, one that I’ll carry with me for the rest of my life,” Heinbaugh gladly stated.
Due to his solid play throughout his career at Adams State, Heinbaugh is now ranked third in rebounds (625) and eighth in points (1,005) for the school’s history.
This humble senior leader was proud to reach this great milestone, but was more proud to help his team win. Saturday’s game against the now 9-13 Thunderwolves was a strong win for the Grizzlies, who led for the entire game.  Junior forward Marqus Richards helped greatly in that effort and led all scorers with 18 points, going 6-11 in field goals and 6-10 in free throws.  As a team, Adams State cleanly won the battle in field goal (50.0), 3-point (46.2), and free throw percentage (68.2).
To the Thunderwolves credit, they played a competitive second half, scoring 35 points to the Grizzlies’ 36 and shooting 44 percent from the floor.  CSU-Pueblo sophomore guard Nathan Tigner led his team in scoring with 16 points, 10 of which came in the second half.
Friday night, Adams State defeated the Mountain Lions of the University of Colorado- Colorado Springs 83-69, who were 7-13 coming into the game.  This was the team’s first game since its back-to-back losses the previous weekend to New Mexico Highlands and Western New Mexico.  Against UCCS, the Grizzlies came out with energy, starting the game off with an 8-0 run.
“If a man hasn’t eaten in a couple of weeks, he’s going to want food,” analogized head coach Louis Wilson.  “This team was hungry.”
UCCS immediately responded with a run of their own, outscoring the Grizzlies 13-2.  Adams State regained its momentum and sat in the driver’s seat for the rest of the game.  Vigor was the theme for the Grizzlies that night, scoring 12 fast break points, compared to the Mountain Lions’ 0.
For his strong defensive efforts this weekend, Marqus Richards was named Defensive Player of the Week.  The 6’4”, 215 lb. guard totaled 14 defensive rebounds and 6 steals this weekend.  Richards is the third different Grizzly to receive the honor this season.  The others being Heinbaugh November 22 and junior guard/forward Shayar Lee on January 4.
Adams State has four regular season games remaining this year, with Senior Night against the second place Colorado School of Mines Orediggers (19-3, 15-3 conference) on February 19 and an away game on February 25 against the seventh place Mavericks of Mesa State (16-7, 12-7 conf.) being the most attractive.  The Grizzlies are currently in fifth place, only a half game behind New Mexico Highlands in the RMAC standings. The team has an opportunity to move up to fourth.  If they do at the end of the regular season, Adams State will host a quarterfinals matchup in the 2011 RMAC Shootout.  This season, the team is an impressive 10-2 at home.

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