CSU-Pueblo falls by one, 70-69.
ALAMOSA, Colo. (GoThunderWolves.com - Dec. 2, 2011) - CSU-Pueblo was one possession away from knocking off an undefeated Adams State squad Friday, coming literally an inch away from stealing a win from the Grizzlies, falling 70-69 in a tight matchup.
Trailing by four with two minutes remaining, the ThunderWolves, which had been trying to overtake Adams State by anything more than a bucket for a bulk of the game, got a series of big plays from center A.J. Kapanoske (Sr., Corona, Calif.), who took a pass from Bryse Velasquez (Jr., Colorado Springs, Colo.) to bring the Pack within two, 69-67, with 45 seconds remaining.
The ThunderWolves tried to foul its way into the lead with marginal success, sending the Grizzlies to the line once and coming away with another Kapanoske bucket on the other end, coming within 70-69 with 18 seconds remaining.
On the following play, Velasquez fouled Adams State's Deray Wilson, who bricked the initial free throw attempt. On his next attempt, the Grizzly defense was fanned out at midcourt awaiting a Pack possession, and despite sinking the charity bucket, Wilson had his scored waved off on a lane violation after rushing to the basket before the ball hit the rim.
However, needing only one field goal to take the lead, the Adams State defense held, forcing a desperation three-point attempt by Jed Knafelc (So., Highlands Ranch, Colo.) followed by a failed tip attempt by Andre Martin (Sr., San Diego, Calif.), keeping the Pack from snatching a dramatic win in the closing seconds.
The exciting finish came on the heels of a neck-and-neck game that saw seven lead changes and neither team never fall more than seven points behind.
CSU-Pueblo jumped out to a 7-0 lead to start the game, but Adams State answered with a 13-0 run and the ThunderWolves answered right back with a 12-0 run. With the game in the Pack's hands, 19-13, the gap closed and Adams State eventually jumped back on top, taking a 35-32 lead into the break.
The game was defined by sloppy ball handling by both teams, as CSU-Pueblo committed 29 turnovers, compared to 26 by Adams State. It was also defined by a gutsy effort from Arden Dennis (Jr., Aurora, Colo.), who netted a game-high 21 points with five three-pointers, all on a tender ankle.
CSU-Pueblo will head to Fort Lewis Saturday, where it will try to snatch its first win in Durango since 1994.
