Story courtesy of Adams State Sports Information
ALAMOSA, Colo.--Led by 27 points by senior power forward Rece Hampton, the Adams State College Grizzlies gave new head men's basketball coach Mark Murdock a victory in his first game at the helm of the program, which started defense of its first Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference West Division Championship with a 81-72 non-conference, in-region victory over the visiting University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux Friday night in Plachy Hall.
The game was the cap on the first day of action at the Grizzly Tip-Off Classic that concludes Saturday.
West Texas A&M held on to defeat former ASC assistant Russ Caton's UC-Colorado Springs squad, 80-78 in the first men's game of the day.
Hampton, who was 12 of 21 from the floor, was joined in double figures by fellow seniors Larry Charles, Jr., Travis Carr and Marcus Mortensen. Charles, Jr. had 15 points, including nine from the line. Carr had all 12 of his from beyond the arc, where he was 4-for-8, while Mortensen made all eight of his free throw attempts en-route to 12 points of his own.
The Fighting Sioux, also playing for the first time in 2007-08, received 23 points from Emmanuel Little and 20 from Ervin Youmans.
Youmans hit three straight 3-points in the game's first 80 seconds to put UND up 9-2. However, the Grizzlies then went on an 18-6 run to take a 5-point lead.
Down 28-27 at the six-minute mark of the first half, Hampton gave the Grizzlies a 29-28 lead triggering a 9-0 run that put ASC up 36-28. ASC never relinquished that cushion.
UND did fight back to within three (38-35) at the half and kept the game in single digits until the 7:08 mark and succumbed to the Grizzly defensive pressure as the hosts iced the game with several free throws down the stretch.
Led by Charles, Jr. and Mortensen, two of four returning players from last year's championship team, the Grizzlies were 22 of 30 (73.3 percent) from the charity stripe. UND was just 8 of 12 (66.7 percent).
The Grizzlies also shot well from the field hitting 27 of 53 shots, a 50.9 percent success rate. UND did even better, hitting at a 52.7 percent (29-55) clip. However, UND committed 23 turnovers, including 13 in the first half, which resulted in 29 Grizzly points, the real difference in the game.
The teams had identical rebounding numbers recording 28 total caroms. They both had 12 on the offensive end. Hampton, who had five offensive boards, and Charles, Jr., led the Grizzlies with six rebounds each.
Little had six to pace UND.
In the earlier game, West Texas A&M jumped out to a 25-11 lead in the first 10:42 before the Mountain Lions methodically whittled the deficit to as little as two.
The Buffs went into the locker-room up 38-33 and upped their lead to 52-43 on a Robert Lee trey. The Mountain Lions again stormed back and closed within one with 9:12 to go but could never get over the jump.
Lee, who had a game-high 28 points, then hit a lay-up with 2:45 left to lift WTAMU to a 78-74 lead before two Nic Fuller free throws tied the game with 51.8 seconds to go.
Lee then answered with two free throws of his own with 35.8 seconds to give WTAMU an 80-78 lead.
The Mountain Lions' Frank McCollum was then called for an offensive foul before a missed Lee layup gave the Mountain Lions one last chance that came up empty as Leo Thomas missed a 3-footer as the ball bounced away at the buzzer.
Lee also had seven rebounds for WTAMU, 1-0 on the young season. Kyle Perkins and Tomaul Hawkins had 17 points each for UCCS, which fell to 0-1.
Tomorrow's schedule includes a 3 p.m. contest between UCCS and UND. The Grizzlies and Buffs will tangle in the quasi-championship game at 8 p.m.
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