Two hot-shooting men's basketball teams matched up Saturday afternoon in Kearney.  While the Chadron State Eagles led nearly all the way during the first 30 minutes, including 55-51 at halftime, the Nebraska-Kearney Lopers went ahead with seven minutes left to play and won 113-101. 

              The hosts won the scoring battle 20-9 during the stretch run, to give their brand new head coach, Antoine Young, a victory.

              Young, an assistant the past six years, was appointed to the head job on an interim basis the previous day after Kevin Lofton, who had been either the co-head coach or the head coach the past 18 seasons, resigned effective immediately. 

              The Eagles shot 58% from the field, making 39 of their 70 field goal shots, including 11 of 25 three-pointers.  But Kearney made 66% of its field attempts, hitting 48 of 73, that included 12 of 22 from behind the arc. 

              Six Lopers scored in double figures, led by Sean Evans and D'Aundre Samuels with 21 apiece. Taden King added 18, Miguel Robles 15 and both Ryder Kirsch and Bryson Goldsmith 12. 

              Evans was the only one of the six who played at Chadron a year ago, when the Eagles won 91-72. 

              Chadron State guard Bryce Latimer was the game's top scorer with 25 points and also had a game-high eight assists. He was followed by center Porter Anderson with 20 points on eight of nine shooting.  Forward Josh Robinson chipped in 17 points and Jarrett Taylor scored 14.

              Anderson was the game's top rebounder with eight, but Kearney outrebounded the Eagles 32-26. Chadron State had just seven turnovers, three fewer than the Lopers, but Kearney scored 22 points on fast breaks and the Eagles only seven.  

              The Lopers also got 49 points off their bench, compared to the Eagles' 16. 

              The Eagles are now 1-2 for the season and will host Bethany College from Kansas at 3 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 21 in the Chicoine Center.  Kearney is 1-1 after losing its first game to Southern Nazarene 83-81.

              Chadron State—Bryce Latimer 25, Porter Anderson 20, Josh Robinson 17, Jarrett Taylor 14, Dalton Peterson 9, Raul Nunez 8, Martin Poznanovic 8, Jalen Paterson 2. Totals: 39-70 (11-25) 12-19 101 points, 26 rebounds.

              Nebraska-Kearney—Sean Evans 21, D'Aundre Samuels 21, Taden King 18, Miquel Robles 15, Ryder Kirsch 12 Bryson Goldsmith 12, Sean Murphy 8, Winston Cook 4, Donavan Short 2. Totals: 48-73 (12-22) 5-5 113 points, 32 rebounds. 

              Chadron State                   55          46        ---101
              Nebraska-Kearney            51          62       ---113

              3-pointers: CSC—Taylor 4, Peterson 3, Latimer 2, Nunez 2. UNK—King 4, Evans 3, Robles 3, Samuels 1, Kirsch 1.  

Eagles have two champs, five more placers at huge tourney

Led by two champions, Chadron State College had seven placewinners at the Younes Open Wrestling Tournament in Kearney on Saturday.  Several other Eagles also won four or five matches, but because of the size of the tournament, had to discontinue competing because they had reached the limit of six before everything was resolved in their weight classes.

              Head Coach Brett Hunter was extremely pleased with his wrestlers' performances.  There were 58 teams and 740 wrestlers in the competition, making it perhaps the largest collegiate tournament in the nation this season. 

              The Eagles' first place winners were senior Quen Campbell of Tifton, Ga., who won all four of his matches in the Elite 133-pound bracket, and redshirt freshman Logan Berger of Hartsville, S.C., who went 6-0 to win the 174-pound title in the Amateur Division.

              Campbell, the 133-pound silver medalist at last year's NCAAII National championships, allowed no more than four points to be scored against him in any of his four matches.  Berger pinned four of his foes and scored a technical fall in a fifth match. He also squeezed out a 2-1 sudden victory win in the semifinals over a Colorado Mines entry. 

              Also for the Eagles, graduate student Mason Watt of Broomfield, Colo., was the runner-up in the heavyweight bracket in the Elite competition with a 4-1 record.  Eagles' junior Quade Smith of Layton, Utah, finished 3-1 while placing third at 125 pounds in the Elite field.

              In addition, senior Ethan Leake of Compton, Calif., went 4-1 at 141 pounds, losing only in the opening round to Hunter Hollingsworth, who compete unattached was a one-time University of Oklahoma commit. Leake won his next four matches, sustained a minor injury and medically forfeited his next two matches, but still finished sixth.

              Also in the Elite competition, Brody Lamb of Wellington, Colo., went 3-1, including two pins, at 149 pounds and Eli Hinojosa of Imperial, was 2-1 at 197.  Both are seniors.

              Another of the Eagles' veterans, Torry Early of Oak Park, Ill., had a 5-1 record at 149 pounds in the Elite division, before reaching his six-match limit and was not able to compete for third place. The same thing occurred to a few of CSC's middle weights contestants in the Amateur Division. 

              That was particularly true at 157 pounds, where three Eagles did that. 

              They were Tayton Gillette of Gooding, Idaho, Brandon Paredes of Tucson, Ariz., and Clayton Robinson of Johnstown, Colo.   

              Paredes's only loss was by a 1-0 score, and he blanked two of his opponents with 15-0 technical falls. 

              Because of the way the bracket was configured, Robinson was awarded third place at 157 pounds. His only loss was to Anwar Alli, an Ohio native who competed unattached.  

              Dominic Joyce, a freshman from North Port, Fla., also was third at 185 pounds after winning five of his six matches.  He had a pin and two major decisions among his victories. 

              Freshman Grady Fox of Augusta, Kan., earned bonus points in all four of the matches he won at 149 pounds in the Amateur Division.  Redshirt Colton Gehlhausen of Pinedale, Wyo., was 3-2 at 165.