CHADRON, Neb. – Three Eagles scored in double figures as Chadron State men's basketball survived a late rally to defeat Colorado Mesa 69-67 Saturday evening in Chadron, snapping a 13-game losing streak against the Mavericks. 

The win enables CSC to climb back to .500 as the Eagles are 9-9 overall and 5-5 in the RMAC. Colorado Mesa is also 5-5 in RMAC play and 11-7 overall. The Eagles and Mavericks, along with UCCS and CSU Pueblo, are currently in a four-way tie for sixth in the league standings. 

Trey Ballard scored 15 points in 30 minutes off the bench to lead the Eagles, who have won two straight and three of their last four. Zy Wright had a well-rounded game with 14 points, nine rebounds and three steals and Julio Phipps added 13 points and five boards.

Jalen Thomas was sneakily just shy of a triple-double, finishing with eight points, eight rebounds and nine assists. The Eagles shot 46.7 percent from the floor, 28.6 percent from three and 63.6 percent (7-11) from the line. 

The Mavericks made 43.8 percent of their overall shots, but CSC forced the visitors into a cold shooting night behind the arc as the Mavericks made just 4 of 26 three-point attempts (15.4 percent). 

The win is the first by Chadron State over Colorado Mesa since December 5, 2014. The Eagles have had some near misses against CMU at the Chicoine Center in recent years, as each of the previous two meetings in Chadron between the two schools had gone to overtime. 

The Eagles made just enough plays down the stretch to avoid the same fate this time. Chadron State took an early 11-6 lead, but the Mavericks answered with a 12-0 run to lead 18-11. The Eagles found a run of their own, with jumpers from Jalen Thomas and Julio Phipps, a Thomas steal that led to a Phipps fastbreak dunk and a pull-up Zy Wright three-pointer turning the tide for the hosts, 20-18. 

From there, Chadron State seemingly had a one-to-two-possession lead for nearly the rest of the game. Colorado Mesa never took the lead, but the Eagles didn't have more than a seven-point advantage in the first half and went to the locker room up by two at 35-33. 

Chadron State's largest lead of the entire night came with just under two minutes to go as a Wright three followed by layups from Ballard and Thomas turned a 59-57 lead into a nine-point cushion at 66-57 with 1:45 to play. 

The Mavericks, however, were not done. Colorado Mesa had entered the game winning three consecutive games all by two points or less, and they had designs on another narrow victory. A steal and quick layup on a CSC inbounds pass made it 66-60, and after a couple Ballard free throws, the Mavericks got two baskets sandwiched around a five-second violation by CSC to cut the lead to four. 

After the Eagles missed the front end of a one-and-one, CMU's Ty Allred hit a three to trim the Eagles lead to one at 68-67 with two seconds left. Phipps was fouled and went to the line, and the New Yorker made the first free throw and missed the second. 

Lacking a timeout, CMU had to heave the ball the full length of the court at the buzzer and missed, preserving the two-point win. 

Chadron State will need to maintain its momentum against a pair of regional rivals. The Eagles hit the road this Tuesday to face South Dakota Mines before returning to Chadron Thursday to face Black Hills State at 7 p.m. in the Chicoine Center.

Chadron State— Trey Ballard 15, Zy Wright 14, Julio Phipps 13, Dalton Peterson 9, Jalen Thomas 8, Darrius Miles 6, Zach Smith 2, John Jenkins 2. Totals: 28-60 FG, 6-21 3PT, 7-11 FT. 69 points, 37 rebounds, 16 assists, 13 turnovers.

Colorado Mesa— Ty Allred 18, Yaak Yaak 17, Will Mortimore 9, Christopher Speller 7, Mason Honeyman 5, Jaylen Pitman 4, Harvey White 4, Austin Thyne 3. Totals: 28-64 FG, 4-26 3PT, 7-10 FT. 67 points, 36 rebounds, 13 assists, 9 turnovers.

Women's Basketball Beaten By Mavericks

CHADRON, Neb. – Colorado Mesa showcased the form that saw the Mavericks projected to win the RMAC in this year's preseason poll, defeating Chadron State women's basketball 79-49 Saturday afternoon at the Chicoine Center. 

Megan Counts scored 12 points and Allison Richards added 11 for the Eagles, with Counts, Richards and Liberty Line hitting two three-pointers apiece for Chadron State. 

The loss drops the CSC women to 3-13 overall and 2-8 in RMAC play. Colorado Mesa remains tied for the RMAC lead at 13-4 overall, 8-2 in conference.

Olivia Reed Thyne led the way for CMU, scoring 30 points on 12 of 18 shooting and adding six rebounds and two steals. Reed Thyne, the reigning RMAC Player of the Year, is the daughter of former CSC men's basketball coach Houston Reed and played two seasons at Chadron High School.

The Mavericks took control early and never looked back. CMU raced out to a 13-0 lead, outscored the Eagles 24-8 in the first quarter and led 41-16 at halftime. Chadron State did outscore the Mavericks 18-17 in the third quarter, but CMU further extended their lead in the final period. 

Colorado Mesa shot an even 50 percent from the field, 36.8 percent from three (7-19) and 70 percent from the line (14-20). The Mavericks, and in particular Reed, went to work inside and outscored CSC in the paint 42-14 and outrebounded the Eagles 38-27.

Chadron State was 32.6 percent from the field (15-46), 27.3 percent from three (6-22) and 76.5 percent from the line (13-17).

Counts had one of her better games of the year, playing a season-high 27 minutes and finishing with her second-highest point total this season. Counts hit three-pointers for each of Chadron State's first two made field goals of the game and tallied eight of her 12 in the first half. 

Counts and Bati Assefa each finished with six rebounds and two steals, sharing the team lead in those categories. 

Chadron State has a quick turnaround, playing South Dakota Mines next Tuesday in Rapid City before hosting Black Hills State on Thursday in the Chicoine Center at 5 p.m.

Chadron State— Megan Counts 12, Allison Richards 11, Liberty Line 8, Bati Assefa 6, Kylie Krise 5, Ashayla Powers 2, McKenzi Petersen 2, Malorie Byrne 2, Olivia Waufle 1. Totals: 15-46 FG, 6-22 3PT, 13-17 FT. 49 points, 27 rebounds, 9 assists, 19 turnovers.

Colorado Mesa— Olivia Reed Thyne 30, Brooklyn Palmer 14, Mykaela Moore 10, Macy Larsen 9, Riley Hayes 6, Kylie Kravig 4, Lauryn Deede 3, Claire Heitschmidt 1, Serena Ileleji 1, Kailey Page 1. Totals: 29-58 FG, 7-19 3PT, 14-20 FT. 79 points,38 rebounds, 18 assists, 14 turnovers.

Track Wins Seven Events At Myrle Hanson Open

CHADRON, Neb. – Seven Chadron State College entries won events at the Myrle Hanson Open Indoor Track and Field Meet at Black Hills State, which drew athletes from a half dozen schools on Saturday. 

While sprinters and jumpers dominated the headlines in CSC indoor track's first two meets of the season, Saturday's competition saw the Eagles rack up victories in the throws and distance events. 

Chadron State still performed well in the sprints. The Eagles rested most of their primary sprinters in individual events on Saturday, but CSC football standout Tommy Thomas competed and won the 60-meter dash, besting 30 entries with a time of 7.01 seconds.

The Eagles also won the 4x400-meter relay, with the winning quartet made up of Jacob Jefferson, Christopher Cormier, Ryan Clapper and Nicquaine Henry. Despite it being their first time running as a unit, their time of 3:24.55 is just a half second from making the Eagles' top 15 all-time list and ranks fifth on the RMAC chart for this season.

Also on the track, freshman Wyatt Bly was stashed in the slow heat of the 3000 meters, but he had the winning time of 8:52.21, which ranks among the top 15 on the Eagles' all-time list.  There were 20 runners in the race and Bly won it by eight seconds. Another CSC distance runner, junior Nate Mann, was second in the mile, which had more than 30 contestants. His time of 4:28.11 is a career best.

On the women's side, Alissa Wieman won the mile, which had 20 entries, and was also the runner-up in the 3000. Her mile time of 5:17.91 nearly matches her career best, and the 2025 season has barely begun.

Chadron State men won three field events, including seniors Christopher Jennings in the weight throw and Parker Gonser in the shot put.  Their marks of 59-9 ¾ and 49-1 ¾, respectively, will easily qualify them for the conference meet, and Jennings' heave also puts him on the national qualifying list. A freshman thrower, Quade Jordan, was third in the shot put at 46-5 ¼. The mark is 2 ½ feet farther than his distance at the meet at Black Hills State a week earlier. 

CSC's double reigning RMAC Field Athletes of the Week, sophomore Chayton Bynes and freshman Camila Salvucci, each skipped out on the triple jump event which led to their wins last week to compete in the long jump instead. 

Bynes, who at the previous meet exceeded 50 feet in the triple jump three consecutive times, went a career-best 24-1 ½ in the long jump on Saturday, making him the seventh CSC athlete to exceed 24 feet in the event. Bynes's mark is the third longest in the RMAC so far this season and is a top 16 mark in Division II nationally. Salvucci placed third at 16-9 ½, putting her the among the top 25 in the conference.

Coach Jake Gruver also noted that numerous others had marks that were substantial enough to make them legitimate contenders to qualify for the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Meet at the end of February if they continue to improve. The coach added that throwers Morgan Ekwell and Ashlyn Tapio had marks that will put them in contention to qualify for the RMAC Meet, which generally has room for only about 20 entries in each event at the indoor showdown.  He also noted that Shantae Morgan, a senior, and Riley Wiese, a freshman, are injury-free and are improving in the sprint and hurdles, respectively. 

The Eagles placings at the meet follow:  
Men's Results
              60 meters—1, Tommy Thomas, 7.01.
              200—4, Tommy Thomas, 23.33.
              800—6, Nate Mann, 2:03.40
              Mile—2, Nate Mann, 4:28.11.
              3000—1, Wyatt Bly, 8:52.21.
              4x100 relay—1, Chadron State (Jacob Jefferson, Chris Cormier, Ryan Clapper, Nicquaine Henry). 3:24.55; 2, Chadron State (Greg Logsdon, Diego Perez, Kadin Perez, Malachi Swallow), 3:29.62.
              Shot put—1, Parker Gonser, 49-1 ¾; 3, Quade Jordan, 46-5 ¼; 5, Caleb Christensen, 43-8 ¾.
              35-pound weight throw—1, Christopher Jennings, 59-9 ¾; 3, Parker Gonser, 51-11 ¾.
              Long jump—1, Chayton Bynes, 24-1 ½. 
 
Women's Events
              Mile—1, Alissa Wieman, 5:17.91; 4, Lydia Peters, 5:26.78; 5. Samantha Rodewald, 5:31.27.
              3000—2, Alissa Wieman, 11:09.30; 5. Samantha Rodewald, 11:37.15; 6, Kyndall Carnahan, 11:43.52.
              60 hurdles—3. Riley Wiese, 9.87.
              Shot put—6. Morgan Ekwall, 37-3.
              20-pound weight throw—4, Ashlyn Tapio, 45-4 ¼; 6, Morgan Ekwall, 44-5 ¼. 
              Long jump—3, Camila Salvucci, 16-9 ¼.  
              High jump—3, Mataya Ward, 4-10 ½. 
              Pole vault—4, Madison Clause, 10-8.