GUNNISON, Colo.  Visiting Adams State might have expected to overpower host Western Colorado Thursday night in a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference game at Paul Wright Gym, but the Mountaineers hung tough all game, until the Grizzlies used a 9-0 late run to break a tie and avoid the upset in an 81-77 win.

JUST THE FACTS
Final score: Adams State def. Western, 81-77
Records: Western 7-17 overall (5-10 RMAC), Adams State 16-7 (10-5)
Location: Paul Wright Gym, Gunnison, Colo.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The deciding point in the game came after a pair of Mason Mottashed free throws knotted the game at 68-68 with exactly 7 minutes left on the game clock.
• The run that Western had avoided all game long, though, came right after those free throws as Adams State broke the tie with a layup its next time down the court and a little more than two minutes later, had built a 77-68 cushion.
• The Mountaineers pulled back within four at 77-73 and then again at 79-75, but ASU hit free throws and picked off defensive rebounds to stave off a Western final rally.
• It was a good start for the Mountaineers as they led by four points several times in the early going. And when ASU fought back into the lead, Western never let the gap grow, eventually taking back the lead a little past the midpoint of the opening half.
• The lead was as many as five points in the final six minutes of the half, but the Grizzlies would punch back and allow Western just a 40-39 lead entering the halftime break.
• Adams State would come out of the break with a quick start, pushing in front by eight, 55-47, in less than four minutes. But it was Western with the quick run, an 8-0 jump, that evened the game at 55-55.
• Eventually Western would inch in front 64-63 on a Quincy Scott layup, but though it would tie the game at 66-66 and at 68-68, the Mountaineers would never break through to the take the lead over the final seven minutes of action.

HARDWOOD NOTES

• Jordan Kuac tied his season high with 22 points in the game, including a 3 for 4 night from behind the arc.
• Aidan McDowell would lead the Mountaineers with 25 points, with Scott chipping in 11 and Tyler Halligan adding 10 to also score in double figures.
• Joanis Koulisianis would come away with a career- and game-high 11 rebounds, while adding 7 points and 3 blocked shots. He was also 5-for-6 from the free throw line.
• The game was tied 10 times and included 12 lead changes.
• An issue several times during the season, the Mountaineers would turn the ball over a season low eight times during the loss.

UP NEXT
Western will host Fort Lewis College on Saturday at 3 p.m., a Skyhawks squad that led the RMAC until slipping back into a three-way tie for tops in the league after a Thursday loss at Colorado Mesa University.