New Mexico Highlands made five of its first seven field goal shots while jumping out to an 11-3 lead and was ahead the rest of the way Friday night while holding off Chadron State in a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference men’s basketball game in Las Vegas.  The final score was 85-74.

The game was well played in many ways. The teams combined to make 24 of 52 shots from 3-point range, including Chadron State’s 13 of 27 showing, and there were only 23 turnovers.

Highlands is now 11-11 overall and 6-10 in the RMAC and the Eagles are 9-14 and 5-10. 

The Cowboys led 30-16 with eight minutes to play in the first half. The Eagles sank five 3-pointers in the next six minutes to cut the difference to 39-37, but Highlands scored the final five points of the half and led 44-37 at intermission.

The Cowboys were hot again early in the second half while building their biggest lead–58-41– with 13 minutes remaining.  Chadron State again fought back and trailed by just five points—62-57—with eight minutes left.

The Eagles eventually cut the deficit to 72-69 on a layup by center Porter Anderson with 3:05 still showing, but Highlands posted the next nine points and closed out the game by making six consecutive free throws in the last 46 seconds.

Three seniors led the way for Highlands.  Sammy Barnes-Thompkins poured in 30 points while making 12 of 23 field goal shots, Desmond Carpenter scored 17 and grabbed eight rebounds and Andre Adams added 12 points and claimed 13 boards.  The 6-9 Adams also blocked three shots.

The Eagles put four players in double figures. Teddy Parham, who was five-of-eight from 3-point range, scored 17, CJ Jennings 16, Marcus Jefferson 11 and Mason Hiemstra 10.  Jefferson was CSC’s leading rebounder with eight.

Both teams took 64 shots from the field. Highlands made 33 for 51.6% and Chadron 25 for 39.1%.  The Eagles were 11 of 12 at the free throw line. The Cowboys were eight of 12.

The Eagles will play at Colorado-Colorado Springs on Saturday night.  The Mountain Lions ripped Black Hills State 92-63 on Friday night.

                Chadron State—Teddy Parham 17, CJ Jennings 16, Marcus Jefferson 11, Mason Hiemstra 10, Porter Anderson 9, Taj Toney 5, Beau Bragg 4, KJ Harris 2.  Totals: 25-64 (13-27) 11-12 74 points, 32 rebounds, 13 assists, 13 turnovers
                New Mexico Highlands—Sammy Barnes-Thompkins 30, Desmond Carpenter 17, Andre Adams 12, Marcus Brown 8, Mario Archuleta 8, Eric Sonnerberg 7, Tyler Rodgers 3. Totals: 33-64 (11-25) 8-12 85 points, 35 rebounds, 14 assists, 10 turnovers.

Chadron State          37           37          —-74
                N.M. Highlands        44           41          —-85

                3-pointers: CSC—Parham 5, Jennings 3, Jefferson 3, Hiemstra 2.  NMHU—Barmes-Thompkins 3, Carpenter 3, Archuleta 2, Brown 1, Sonnenberg 1, Rodgers 1.  

Eagles Unable To hold Off Cowgirls’ Fourth-Quarter Push

The Chadron State College women’s basketball team (7-14, 6-10 RMAC) was defeated 76-71 after a monster fourth quarter by New Mexico Highlands (6-17, 3-14 RMAC) in Las Vegas Friday night.

CSC enjoyed one of its best shooting performances of the season, going 10-19 on three-pointers and 7-10 on free throws. Despite the effort, the Eagles were unable to hold off a 31-point surge by the Cowgirls offense in the fourth quarter.

Jori Peters scored the first points of the game after sprinting down the court for a fastbreak layup. She then stole the ball from NMHU’s Shania Johnson and swished a subsequent three-pointer. A layup by Samiyah Worrell gave the Eagles a 7-0 lead to start the game. Worrell and Olyvia Pacheco each landed a three before the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter began with CSC leading 21-16. Worrell and Pacheco each put up another three-pointer while NMHU’s Maiah Rivas landed one of her own to help the Cowgirls come back to within a three-point deficit before the third quarter. The score was 34-31 Eagles at halftime.

Both teams traded blows in the third quarter with Worrell adding another three-pointer and Johnson answering back with a three of her own. Highlands gained its first lead of the night after a layup by Rivas put the Cowgirls up 38-37 at 7:16. Chadron State gained the lead back and led the Cowgirls 48-45 heading into the fourth quarter.

Chadron State led Highlands for most of the fourth quarter until Aja Scott landed back-to-back threes at 4:10 and 3:12 to gain a 64-63 lead. The Cowgirls would score six more unanswered points to increase their lead to seven. Down by nine with 20 seconds of the game, Worrell and Bailey Brooks each netted a three-pointer to close out the game. The final score was 76-71.

Highlands’ big fourth quarter was the result of shooting 80% on field goals (12-15), 75% on three-pointers (3-4), and 100% on free throws (4-4).

The Eagles will be looking to bounce back when they travel to play UCCS (9-14, 7-10 RMAC) at 5:30 p.m. tomorrow.

Chadron State—Samiyah Worrell 25, Jori Peters 12, Bailey Brooks 11, Olyvia Pacheco 8, Ashayla Powers 4, Tatum Peterson 4, Riley Aiono 2, Brittni McCully 2, Elle Ravenscroft 2, Olivia Waufle 1. FG/3PT/FT: 27-70/10-19/7-10, 71 points, 35 rebounds, 8 assists, 12 turnovers.

New Mexico Highlands—Aja Scott 19, Awreona Ransom 15, Maiah Rivas 13, Shania Johnson 7, Jordyn Lewis 6, Sana’a Baker 6, Desiree Forster 6, Ashley Antone 4. FG/3PT/FT: 29-67/7-24/11-11, 76 points, 37 rebounds, 19 assists, 9 turnovers.

Chadron State 21 13 14 23 –71

New Mexico Highlands 14 17 14 31 –76

3-pointers: CSC—Worrell 6, Pacheco 2, Peters 1, Brooks 1. NMHU—Scott 3, Rivas 2, Johnson 1, Ransom 1.

Western Colorado Outlasts Eagles 43-9

The Chadron State College men’s wrestling team took its third Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference dual loss on Friday, eliminating it from the league title chase by falling to Western Colorado University, now ranked No. 19 by Intermat, by a score of 43-9 on Friday in Gunnison, Colorado.

“We had a few guys, who are typically in our lineup, that couldn’t compete due to injuries,” said CSC Head Men’s Wrestling Coach Brett Hunter. “That really set us back. But I’m proud of Quade [Smith] for beating a really tough opponent, and the guys we were able to put out there all wrestled hard.”

At the beginning of the dual, CSC true freshman Quade Smith upset 125-pound opponent Cody Fatzinger, the 13th-ranked Division II wrestler at IntermatWrestle.com. Smith had the first takedown before his opponent built a 6-2 lead. He was down 6-5 when he put Fatzinger’s back to the mat with 17 seconds left in regulation.

Smith was the November 16 RMAC Wrestler of the Week after pinning a Cornhusker opponent.

The other win for the Eagles came at 197 pounds, where CSC’s Eli Hinojosa took a 7-4 decision.

At 149, 165, and 184 pounds, the Eagles were struggling to field a competitor due to injuries incurred at Colorado Mesa the previous evening. They gave up 18 points due to forfeits.

Western Colorado earned its other 25 points at 133, 141, 157, 174, and 285 pounds.

The CSC men’s wrestling team will send a few competitors to the Rocky Mountain Open in Golden, Colorado, before putting forth its best at the NCAA Super Region 6 Championships in Grand Junction, Colorado, on February 26 in Grand Junction, Colorado.

Individual Results:

125 – Quade Smith (CSC) pinned No. 13 Cody Fatzinger, 6:43
133 – Alex Alvarez (WCU) pinned Kobe Lepe, 12-2, 6:33
141 – No. 12 Dean Noble (WCU) dec. Ethan Leake, 7-5
149 – Jason Hanenburg (WCU) won by forfeit
157 – Ryan Wilson (WCU) MD Harrison Gocke, 12-3
165 – No. 7 Hunter Mullin (WCU) won by forfeit
174 – Cole Hernandez (WCU) pinned Darwin Hull, 3:44
184 – Cole Gray (WCU) won by forfeit
197 – Eli Hinojosa (CSC) dec Porter Fox, 7-4
285 – Sammy Deseriere pinned No. 10 Mason Watt, 4:22