Reggie Thompson
The Paw Print
The Adams State Grizzlies men’s basketball team started the 2011 RMAC Shootout with an astounding 106-98 double overtime win in the quarterfinals contest against New Mexico Highlands University.
The game was nearly lost for ASC in the first overtime, but a clutch three point shot by junior forward Shayar Lee kept the game alive as time expired.
“Coach [Louis Wilson] drew [the play] up well,” described Lee. “I knew it was coming to me …I was confident taking the shot.”
Lee scored 17 points, recovered nine rebounds, and blocked two shots. The win also included a double-double for junior forward Marqus Richards, who led all scorers with 27 points and had 11 rebounds, the most for both teams.
It was a hard-fought, back-and-forth game. There were a total of 13 lead changes, seven of them coming in the first half.
“It was a complete team game,” mentioned senior leader Seth Heinbaugh.
Heinbaugh, who had 16 points, and nine rebounds, was one of the four “helpless” key players that fouled out before the end of the game, the others were junior guard Robby Hanzlik, sophomore center Jack Osborn, and junior guard Deray Wilson.
The game almost never got to overtime but did as free throws again made the difference.
The Grizzlies were down eight (76-68) with 2:45 left in regulation but quickly made it a 3-point game as a Richards 3-point play, followed by a quick turnover and a Lee free throw allowed the Grizzlies to get back into it, just 26 seconds later.
Then with 1:35 left, Richards hit two free throws to make it a 1-point game.
The Grizzlies then forced another turnover, one of 23 the Cowboys had on the night, but came up empty on a Lee 3-pointer. However, the defense stepped up again as Lee grabbed a Chris Newsome miss with 16 seconds left before Deray Wilson (Anchorage, Alaska) drove to the bucket while drawing contact with 5.9 seconds left.
Wilson, who had 20 points and a career-high eight assists while playing 35 of the game’s 50 minutes, sunk both of the ensuing free throws putting the Grizzlies up 77-76.
However, NMHU came back and drew a controversial holding foul on Grizzly sophomore center Jack Osborn who fouled out on the play, which initially came with no time left on the clock.
The referees then added 0.4 seconds back on to the clock before Newsome hit a game-tying free throw. However, his second free throw rimmed off as the Grizzlies dodged a big bullet only to later survive a second with Lee’s clutch shot.
Unexpected players stepped up, including freshman Lance Evans, whose two free throws late in the second overtime helped seal the victory for the team.
Referring to Evans, Heinbaugh added, “He’s not a freshman anymore.”
Both the Grizzlies and the Cowboys showed great intensity and a tremendous desire to win. The aggression, however, led to a small altercation involving Heinbaugh, Cowboys’ 6 foot 8 inch junior center Derek Freeman, and Highlands head coach Joe Harge, in which Harge attempted to vocally separate the two players after they had a short, physical incident. It appeared negatively to the crowd, but Coach Wilson assures it was handled well, saying Harge is a “great and professional man.” Later on, the issue among the two players seemed to be resolved.
This was the Grizzlies third consecutive game that went beyond regulation time, but it was the first double overtime game for the school in RMAC Shootout history and the first for the school in general since February 7, 2008, where Adams State defeated Western State, 88-82.
The team also set a couple of other firsts by scoring the most points in a playoff game (106) and reaching the most wins in a season (20) in ASC Division II history.
The Grizzlies finished the night 36 of 59 (61.0 percent) from the free throw line setting a new RMAC Shootout record for both free throws made and attempted. New Mexico Highlands also bettered both former marks of 33 makes and 44 attempts as they finished 36 of 55 (65.5 percent).
The former Shootout record of 33 free throw attempts was co-held by the Grizzlies, set in 2007 during an overtime-win over Nebraska-Kearney in the semifinals, and then matched in 2009 by Metro State.
The former record of 44 attempts was matched, ironically, by the Cowboys last year after originally being set by Mesa State in 1995.
The Grizzlies also broke their NCAA Division II era (1992-93/Present) for free throw attempts in a game. The former mark of 54 was set in 1992 against Fort Lewis. Tuesday’s post-season contest was just the second at home for the Grizzlies in the NCAA Division II era. They are now 2-0 after defeating UC-Colorado Springs in the 2007 RMAC Shootout Quarterfinals.
Because of the win, Adams State will move on to the semifinals in the tournament to face Colorado School of Mines on Friday at the Colorado State Fair Events Center in Pueblo, Colo.
This will be the third time the two teams have faced off against one another, splitting the series 1-1, thus far.
Mines, who beat the University of Nebraska-Kearney on Tuesday to advance in the RMAC shootout, is a smart, physical team that doesn’t make too many mistakes, but the Grizzlies are, again, ready for the challenge.
“We’re hungry…we’re going to scrap,” says Lee eagerly.
The game on Friday is scheduled to tip off at 3 p.m.
What’s Been Said…