GOLDEN, Colo. – Chadron State put up a valiant fight against Colorado School of Mines, but the top-seeded Orediggers held their nerve and pulled out a 79-74 victory over the Eagles in the quarterfinals of the RMAC Tournament. 

The Eagles came back from a 12-point halftime deficit to not only take the lead but hold it for large stretches of the second half, but the Orediggers took the lead back for good with 1:27 to go and made enough plays down the stretch to earn the win, as well as the right to host Friday and Saturday's tournament semifinals and finals. 

Jalen Thomas scored 19 points on 7 of 18 shooting to lead the Eagles, who had four players finish in double figures. Darrius Miles added 18 points and seven rebounds, Zy Wright had 14 points and Julio Phipps had 12. Wright and Thomas had three steals apiece. 

Jaylen Davis played a big role off the bench, playing a season-high 26 minutes and logging six points, four rebounds and two assists. Defensively, Davis took on the primary responsibility of guarding Mines's leading scorer Majok Deng, who finished with only seven points, less than half his season average. 

The Orediggers did get contributions from Cade Mankle, who had 22 points, and Markus Pastorcic-Straun, who had 13 points with most coming down the stretch. CSC outrebounded Mines 33-29 and outscored the Orediggers 38-28 in the paint. 

Chadron State ends its season 15-14 overall, sealing the program's second winning season in the last 10 years. With the loss in the quarterfinals, however, the Eagles have now lost 10 consecutive RMAC Tournament games, dating back to the 1992-93 season. 

The Eagles completely reversed their fortunes in the second half to get in position to win the game, as the first half was all Mines. The Orediggers shot a staggering 65.4 percent from the field and 62.5 percent from three-point range (10-for-16), building a 45-33 halftime cushion. 

Understandably, that shooting percentage was not sustainable for Mines in the second half, and Chadron State pounced to turn the tide, as the Eagles went on a 14-3 run in the first 3:48 of the second half. 

Jaylen Davis and Zy Wright hit back-to-back threes on CSC's first two possessions as CSC cut the dozen-point halftime deficit in half just 35 seconds into the second period. Darrius Miles had a 1-for-2 trip to the line followed by a dunk before a Julio Phipps three and Miles jumper cut the lead to just a point at 48-47 when Mines called timeout with 16:12 to play. 

Out of that timeout, Zy Wright splashed a three-pointer to give CSC its first lead of the game at 50-48. The lead would see-saw from there, changing hands six times in the next four minutes of play. 

With the score tied at 60-60, the Eagles got two free throws from Jalen Thomas before Julio Phipps poked the ball away, raced to the loose ball and threw down a one-handed slam at the other end to put CSC up by four. Two-and-a-half minutes later, Thomas hit a contested turn-around jumper to give the Eagles their largest lead of the night at 67-62. 

From there, Mines clawed back. The Orediggers tied the score 69-69 with a pair of free throws from Markus Pastorcic-Straun. Those would be the first of six straight Oredigger points by Pastorcic-Straun, the last of which gave Mines a 73-71 lead. 

Pastorcic-Straun hit another bucket to put the Orediggers up 77-73 with 39 seconds to go. Needing to press and hit difficult shots as time wound down, Chadron State missed their last five field goals of the contest. 

Chadron State finished the game 47.4 percent from the field, 28.6 percent from three (6-21) and 70 percent from the line (14-20). Mines was 53.8 percent from the field, 48 percent from three (12-25) and just 55 percent from the line (11-20). The Orediggers finished 48 percent from deep despite shooting just 2 of 9 from distance in the second half. 

Colorado School of Mines advances to face Black Hills State in the tournament semifinals on Friday in Golden while the Eagles' season ends.