By Con Marshall

While breaking a 29-29 deadlock, the Chadron State College men's basketball team went on a 16-2 run in the final five minutes and 20 seconds of the first half to lead 45-31 at intermission enroute to defeating Western Colorado 87-72 in a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference game in Chadron Thursday night.

The win was the sixth in a row for the Eagles, boosting their season record to 14-8 and their conference record to 11-5. 

Chadron State led by as many as 28 points with 12 ½ minutes remaining, may have relaxed too much and was ahead by just nine with about three minutes remaining.  However, the Eagles closed the game by posting the final six points.

Bryce Latimer, the 5-foot-10 super sub, led the winners with 25 points and also handed out 10 assists.  Coach Shane Paben said if the RMAC gives a sixth-man award, Latimer should be the recipient. After making nine of 12 field goal shots and going seven of eight at the free throw line Thursday night, Latimer has scored 97 points while making 37 of 56 (66%) of his shots from the field and going 23 of 25 at the charity stripe in the last four games.

The Eagles also got 19 points from Isaiah Wyatt, who was five-of-nine from 3-point range; 13 points from Jarrett Taylor, who sank four treys for the second game in a row; and 11 points from Josh Robinson, who also was the game's leading rebounder with 10.

The Mountaineers also had a high scorer. Senior Avery Rembao finished with 27 points, 20 of them in the opening half, including 15 of his team's first 19 points.  For the game, Rembao was 10- of-22 from the field, including three-of-eight from behind the arc and four-of-five at the line. Rembao also tallied 33 points when the Eagles visited Western on Dec. 9 and won by an 81-70 score.

The Mountaineers' only other double-figure scorer Thursday night was 6-7 Trevin Lieck with 14 points, 12 of them in the second half when he was four-of-six from behind the arc.

For the game, the Eagles shot 30-of-66 from the field, including 11-of-31 from 3-point range against the Mountaineers' 2-3 zone.  Western was 24 of 59 (40.7%) on its field goal tries and eight-of-25 from long range.  Both teams made 16 free throws. Chadron State out-rebounded the visitors 42-32.

The Eagles will play their next four games on the road, beginning the weekend of Feb. 9-10 during a trip to New Mexico Highlands and Colorado State-Pueblo.

Western Colorado—Avery Rembao 27, Trevin Lieck 14, Robel Desta 9, Kade Juelfs 7, Kevin Jimenez 5, Jon McCloud 5, Deric Conkright 5. Totals: 24-59 (8-25) 16-21 72 points, 32 rebounds, 10 turnovers.

Chadron State—Bryce Latimer 25, Isaiah Wyatt 19, Jarrett Taylor 13, Josh Robinson 11, Marcus Jefferson 8, MJ Foust 5, Porter Anderson 4, Gage Delimont 2. Totals: 30-66 (11-31) 16-20 87 points, 42 rebounds, 7 turnovers.

              Western Colorado           31          41         ---72

              Chadron State                   45         42          ---87

              3-pointers: WCU—Lieck 4, Rembao 3, Conkright 1. CSC—Wyatt 5, Taylor 4, Jefferson 2

Western Colorado player scores 35 against CSC women

Emmery Wagstaff, the daughter of  Garth Wagstaff, a Chadron State College wrestler in the early 1990s, poured in a career-high 35 points while leading the Western Colorado Mountaineers to a 62-54 victory over the Lady Eagles in a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference basketball game in Chadron on Thursday night.

A 5-foot-7 super senior from Evanston, Wyo., Wagstaff tallied 23 points in the first half when the visitors built a 35-18 lead that proved to be insurmountable for the hosts. 

The Eagles warmed up and Wagstaff cooled off in the second half, allowing Chadron State to cut the lead to 57-54 with 4:20 left to play.  However, the Eagles failed to score again and Western added the game's final five points.

Emmery's father had a winning record and earned Academic All-American while competing for the CSC wrestlers in 1992-93 and 1993-94 after he'd previously wrestled at Northwest Wyoming College at Powell.   She said 34 points was her most she scored as an all-state high school player and 33 was her previous college high.

She entered the game averaging 15.7 points this winter and scored 13 against the Eagles during Western's 56-54 win in the game played Dec. 10 in Gunnison. 

This time against the Eagles, she was 12-of-23 from the field, including 6-of-11 on 3-pointers, and made five-of-seven free throws.   Another Western Colorado player, Shannon Smart, is the all-time high scorer against the Eagles with 41 points in 1992-93.

For the second game in a row, the Eagles scored just seven points in the opening quarter as the Mountaineers took a nine-point lead. Wagstaff was especially hot in the second quarter, when she tallied 15 of her team's 19 points. 

Chadron State struggled again in the second quarter, scoring just 11 points, allowing Western to own a 35-18 halftime margin.  The Eagles outscored the visitors 36-27 in the second half, but never completely caught up, even though Wagstaff was held to a dozen points while being defended by freshman Allison Olsen.

Sophomore standout Shay Powers led Chadron State's second half surge by scoring 14 of her team-high 22 points. Seniors Samiyah Powers with 10 points and Riley Aiono with nine were the only other Eagles to score more than three.

For the game, the Eagles were 22-62 (35.5%), including going 0-14 from behind the arc.  Western also made 22 field goals, but Wagstaff sank six treys and Rachel Cockman added one while accumulating 13 total points and also grabbing a game-high 10 rebounds, one more than Wagstaff. 

Powers also was CSC's top rebounder with seven.

Western is now 6-14 overall and 5-10 in the conference. The Eagles are 4-18 and 4-12.         

Both Chadron State teams will be on the road the next two weekends before wrapping up the season at home Feb. 22 and 23 against South Dakota Mines and Black Hills State.

Western Colorado—Emmery Wagstaff 35, Rachel Cockman 13, Brooklyn Seymour 6, Alyza Aikins 4, Kylie Krise 2, Hayley Valencia 2.  Totals: 22-54 (7-21) 11-14 62 points, 38 rebounds, 14 turnovers.

Chadron State—Shay Powers 22, Samiyah Worrell 10, Riley Aiono 9, Claudia Dollinger 3, Kyra Tanabe 2, Allison Olsen 2, Olivia Waufle 2, Awoti Akoi 2, Emily Achter 2.  Totals: 22-62 (0-14) 10-12 54 points, 37 rebounds, 11 turnovers.

              Western Colorado          16       19      14       13       ---62

              Chadron State                   7        11      18      18      ----54

              3-pointers: WCU—Wagstaff 6, Cockman 1.

Football team welcomes 44 on National Signing Day

CHADRON - Head Football Coach Jay Long announced Wednesday that 44 student-athletes have signed National Letters of Intent to attend Chadron State College. The 2023 class includes 33 high school seniors and 11 transfers.

Nine of the transfer students enrolled this semester and expect to participate in spring practices. Four of the transfers are offensive linemen, three are defensive backs, and one at wide receiver and linebacker.

The high school signees include 10 student-athletes from Colorado and nine from Nebraska. CSC also collected three commits from Wyoming and South Dakota, and one from Montana, Alaska, and Texas.

The 2023 class includes three student-athletes who were voted players of the year. In addition, nine played in state championships.

The position breakdown is as follows: seven defensive backs, six defensive linemen, six linebackers, four wide receivers, two tight ends, two running backs, one quarterback, and one kicker.

The Eagles went 3-8 overall and 3-6 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference in 2022.

2023 Chadron State College Incoming Roster

Name Hometown or Previous School Pos.

Wyatt Crogg Star Valley, WY WR
Garet Schlabs Cheyenne East, WY WR
Simeon Marton Saddleback College, CA WR
Evan Weinberg Dallas Lakes, TX WR
Kaden Bohnsack Gering, NE TE
Cole Thorne Grand Island, NE TE
Jayce Kern Fort Osage. MO OL
Geno Pena Dakota Ridge, CO OL
Logan Miles Palmer Ridge, CO OL
Ashton Baswell Livermore, CA OL
Christian Pont Anchorage, AK OL
Brandon Romo Serrano, CA OL
Devyn Jones Papillion South, NE RB
Chase Nelson Douglas County, CO RB
Austin Payne Grand Island North West, NE QB
Ryder True Eaton, CO LB
Ben Andreasen Pius X, NE LB
Ty Young Loveland, CO LB
Griffin Clubb Howard, SD LB
Reese Jacobs Sturgis, SD LB
Liam Blaser Columbus, NE LB
Ian Frye Pomona, CO DL
Tucker McGinnis Thompson Valley, CO DL
Bo Douglass Grand Island, NE DL
Riley Smith Ocala, FL DE
Kian Baxley University, CO DE
Pepper Rusher Wiggins, CO DE
Kyan Allen Scottsbluff, NE DB
Cedar Amiotte Wall, SD DB
Tucker Peterson Roosevelt, CO DB
Josh Gerlach Palmer Ridge, CO DB
Aiden Kuester Neligh, NE DB
Cooper Lakin Burns, WY DB
Evan Cherry Gallatin, MT DB
Wilson Yee Indy CC, KS K