By Con Marshall

For the second night in a row, the Chadron State College men's basketball team was exceptional at both ends of the floor and defeated another primary challenger for a place in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference playoffs by a wide margin. 

After downing Colorado-Colorado Springs 78-56 on Friday night, the Eagles beat the Regis Rangers 94-71 Saturday night. They made 37 of 57 (65%) field goal attempts and limited the visitors to only 46.6% from the field, and just 34.6% in the first half, when Chadron State built a 43-28 lead.

The wins improved the Eagles' overall record to 11-8 overall and 8-5 in the conference.  Both CSC and Colorado Springs were 7-5 after the Friday night game had been played and Regis was 5-6 entering Saturday night's contest.  The UCCS Mountain Lions also lost to Colorado Christian 74-64 in Denver on Saturday night. Therefore, the two weekend victories improves the Eagles' grip on fifth place in the RMAC with nine games remaining on CSC regular season schedule.

The Eagles did not start well against Regis. Coach Shane Paben noted that his team initially didn't focused and turned the ball over seven times almost before they had seven points.  But after the Rangers led 8-7 through the first five minutes, Chadron State went on a 20-5 run and never looked back.

Bryce Latimer, who is listed at 5-10 but may be smaller, provided a great spark off the bench.  He initially made a layup and soon stole the ball that he fed to teammate MJ Foust for a resounding dunk that put CSC ahead 21-13.

During the final 8:30 minutes of the opening half, Latimer hit five more field goals, most of them driving layups after going one-on-one with a defender, to finish the half with 13 points.That was just the start.  While he remained on the bench during the first four minutes of the second half, he finished it with 20 more points while making seven of 10 field goals shots and all six of his free shots.

His 33 points are the most a CSC player has scored since Zac Bargen hit that total in a double overtime game in 10 years ago. Paben called Latimer's performance "the Bryce Latimer show," noting that the Stone Mountain, Georgia, native definitely showed off his quickness and ability to finish while going to the basket.

With Latimer leading the way, the Eagles made 18 of 27 field goal attempts in the first half and 19 of 30 in the second half.  They were not as accurate as usual from 3-point range, making just four of 12, but made 16 of 19 free throws. 

Josh Robinson was the Eagles' second high scorer with 14 points and Jarrett Taylor was two-of-three from long distance while adding 11 points. Both Porter Anderson and Isaiah Wyatt chipped in with nine and Marcus Jefferson had eight.

Aaron Bokol, a 6-5 senior, paced Regis with 18 points, 6-9 Brayden Carter posted 15 and Eddy Egun 10.  With Jefferson defending him most of the time, David Simental, the Rangers' scoring leader for the season with a 15-point average, did not score until midway in the second half and finished with eight points.

The Eagles' next game will be Saturday, Jan. 28 at South Dakota Mines in Rapid City. 

Regis—Aaron Bokol 18, Brayden Carter 15, Eddy Egun 10, David Simental 8, CJ Reed 8, Jasdeep Singh 4, Vojin Mastilovic 3, Aaron Ofstun 3, Aidan Sevilla 2. Totals: 27-58 (1-13) 16-23 71 points, 28 rebounds, 17 turnovers. 

Chadron State—Bryce Latimer 33, Josh Robinson 14, Jarrett Taylor 11, Porter Anderson 9, Isaiah Wyatt 9, Marcus Jefferson 8, MJ Foust 4, Gage Delimont 4, Martin Poznanovic 2. Totals: 37-57 (4-12) 16-19 94 points, 30 rebounds, 13 turnovers.

Regis                      28         43      ---71

Chadron State       43        51      ---94

3-pointers: Regis, Mastilovic 1. CSC—Taylor 2, Jefferson 1, Wyatt 1.

Early Treys Help Regis Women Beat Eagles

Athena Saragoza, a 5-foot-8 sophomore, hit her first four shots, all of them 3-pointers, while providing the Regis women's basketball team with a 12-4 lead Saturday afternoon in the Chicoine Center.

In retrospect, that was about the only spectacular thing the Rangers did, but, as much as anything, it led to their 71-58 victory over the host Chadron State Eagles in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference contest.

The Denver team is now 13-5 for the season and 10-2 in the RMAC, while Colorado Mines is 11-2 and Black Hills State 9-2 to make up the top three in the conference with about a third of the season remaining.Chadron State is 3-16 and 3-10. 

Although Saragoza made another trey in the second quarter to give her 15 points at halftime, she was pretty much a non-entity the rest of the game. She seldom touched the ball again and took just two more shots in the second half, made one of them and finished with 17 points.  

As the final score indicates, the Eagles pretty well matched the Rangers' point production following Saragoza's opening spree.

Regis led 19-13 at the end of the first quarter. Chadron State got within two-points at 26-24 midway in the second quarter, but never completely caught up. The Rangers led 36-28 at halftime.

The third quarter was a slow one for the hosts. They got almost no "good" looks and made only two of 10 field goal attempts while falling behind 49-35 heading into the fourth quarter. 

The Eagles cut the margin to 59-52 midway in the fourth, but were outscored 12-6 the rest of the way even though Emily Achter and Liberty Line hit CSC's only 3-pointers of the game in the final 2:30 minutes.

For the game, Regis connected on 26 of 50 field goal attempts and were eight of 18 from behind the arc while the Eagles were 24 of 57 from the field and just two of 15 from long range. Regis had 32 rebounds, one more than CSC.  Both teams had 19 turnovers and were called for 19 fouls.

Saragoza's 17 points led her team in scoring while three teammates—Erin Fry with 13, Sam Deem with 12 and Josey Ryan with 11—also scored in double digits. 

Eagles' standout Shay Power was the game's high scorer with 21 points and high rebounder with eight. Next on the CSC scoring list were center Riley Aioni and alternate guard Kadyn Comer with seven points apiece.
 

Regis—Athena Saragoza 17, Erin Fry 13, Sam Deem 12, Josey Ryan 11, Erin Stroberg 8, Kyla Frenchers 6, Morgan Smith 4. Totals: 26-50 (8-18) 11-18 71 points, 32 rebounds, 19 turnovers.

Chadron State—Shay Powers 21, Riley Alono 7, Kadyn Comer 7, Claudia Dollinger 5, Liberty Line 5, Allison Olsen 4, Emily Achter 3, Samiyah Worrell 2, Olivia Waufle 2, Awoti Akoi 2.  Totals: 24-57 (2-15) 8-12 58 points, 31 rebounds, 19 turnovers.

Regis                   19          17          13          22     ----71

Chadron State    13          15            7          23     ----58

3-pointers: Regis—Saragoza 5, Fry, Ryan Deem, all 1.  CSC—Achter 1, Line 1.

CSC Male Wrestlers Have a Good Weekend

After having its home dual against Colorado Mesa scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 19 postponed because of blocked highways linking Colorado and Nebraska, the Chadron State College wrestling team ended the week on a high note during the Midwest Duals on Saturday.

The Eagles, who are 23^rd in the Division II Wrestling Coaches rankings released last week, initially defeated No. 17 ranked Fort Hays State 32-15, pretty well held their own against top-ranked Central Oklahoma before losing 25-14. The team then rolled past the Newman Jets from Kansas 39-6.

Senior Ethan Leake, the Californian who qualified the DII National Finals last year, won all three of his 141-pound matches—two of them by pins and the other by a 12-6 decision—to lead the Eagles.  He's now 13-5 for the season.

Quen Campbell, the Georgia native who transferred to CSC last fall and is ranked No. 2 at 133 pounds by the coaches association despite missing several matches because of an injury, won both of this matches. He pinned his Fort Hays State rival and blanked his Newman foe 5-0 to raise his season record to 11-1.

Campbell did not take the mat against Central Oklahoma's nationally-ranked 133-pounder as it is not unusual for coaches to withhold their standouts during what could be described as somewhat "unimportant matches" when there's a chance they'll collide during the National Tournament when the stakes will be much higher.

The Eagles, however, won the 133-pound match against Central Oklahoma, with Colter Jillian of Kemmerer, Wyo., defeating Garrett Steidley 10-3.

Another of CSC's winners vs. Central Oklahoma was senior Preston Renner of Broomfield, Colo., who won the 165-pound bout after Ty Lucas took a medical forfeit midway in the first period. Ty Lucas is a two-time All-American at 157 pounds for the Bronchos and is Dylan's older brother.

Renner, who did not compete during the first semester because of injury, also scored a 10-2 victory over his Fort Hays State opponent and received a forfeit from Newman to join Leake with a 3-0 record at Midwest Duals.

CSC's Brody Lamb of Wellington, Colo., who also was recovering from an injury the first semester, has returned to action recently, did not take the mat against Central Oklahoma, but won both of his other 157-pound matches Saturday. 

Heavyweight Mason Watt of Broomfield, Colo., went 2-1.  He won a 15-5 major decision over his Fort Hays opponent and pinned his Newman rival in less than a minute.  His third match was a close. Braden Morgan of Central Oklahoma won 4-2 in overtime.  Watt is 10-3 for the season and is among the Eagles that Coach Brett Hunter is hoping will become a national qualifier when CSC hosts the Super Region 6 Championships in about a month.  

In addition, sophomore Quade Smith of Layton, Utah, and freshman Brandon Paredes of Tucson, Ariz., finished the duals with 2-1 records, losing only close matches to Central Oklahoma entries.

The Midwest Duals results:

Chadron State 32, Fort Hays State 15

125—Quade Smith, CSC, won by forfeit.

133—Quen Campbell, CSC, pinned Mason Turner, 3:53

141—Ethan Leake, CSC, dec. Jacob Mitchell, 12-6.

149—Brandon Paredes, CSC, dec. Drew Burgoon, 7-1.

157—Brody Lamb, CSC, pinned Clint Herrick, 1:02.

165—Preston Renner, CSC, major dec. Blaise Ronnau, 10-2.

174—Juan Urbina, FHSU, pinned Rowdy Pfeil, 3:55.

184—Bryce Westmoreland, FHSU, dec. Keegan Gehlhausen, 7-6.

197—Tereus Henry, FHSU, won by forfeit.

Hwt—Mason Watt, major dec. Anthony Cardwell, 15-5.

Central Oklahoma 25, Chadron State 14

125—Studd Morris, COU, dec. Quade Smith, 3-2.

133—Colter Julian, CSC, dec. Garrett Steidley, 10-3.

141—Ethan Leake, CSC, pinned Josh Taylor, 5:00.

149—Brik Fillippo, COU, dec. Brandon Paredes, 7-4.

157—Gabe Johnson, COU, major dec. Harrison Gocke, 12-4.

165—Preston Renner, CSC, won by injury default over Ty Lucas, 1:34.

174—Anthony DesVigne, COU, dec. Rowdy Pfeil, 5-2.

184—Alex Kauffman, COU,pinned Keegan Gehlhausen, 6:48.

197—Emmanuel Skillings, COU, dec. Bryan Zutavern, 11-5.

Hwt.—Braden Morgan COU, dec. Mason Watt, 4-2 in overtime.

Chadron State 39, Newman 6

125—Quade Smith, pinned Dylan Sheler, 2:20.

133—Quen Campbell, dec. Jevin Foust, 5-0.

141—Ethan Leake, CSC, pinned Colby Schreiner, 1:45.

149—Brandon Parades, CSC, dec. Hunter Dietrich, 7-4.

157—Brody Lamb, CSC, won by forfeit.

165—Preston Renner, CSC, won by forfeit.

174--Rowdy Pfeil, CSC, dec. JD Johnson, 6-5.

184—Keegan Gehlhausen, CSC, pinned Vincenzo Oliva, 1:06.

197—Caleb Wunsch, New, pinned Bryan Zutavern, 5:47.

Hwt—Mason Watt, CSC, pinned DeLeon Freeman, 47 seconds