CHADRON, Neb. -- With transfer Major Deng pouring in 42 points, the Colorado School of Mines men's basketball team breezed to a 74-56 win over Chadron State in the Eagles' final home game of the season Saturday night.
             
Deng was pretty much a one-man show.  He scored 16 of the Orediggers' 35 points in the first half, topped off by a 3-pointer from half court as the buzzer was sounding.  He then poured in 26 of his team's 39 points in the second half.  No one else scored more than seven for the Orediggers.  
             
Deng's hot shooting led the way as Mines improved its record to 21-6 overall and 15-4 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.  The win was the 442^nd in the Pryor Orser's 23 years as the Orediggers' head basketball mentor, making him the all-time winningest men's coach in the RMAC. 
             
Deng, who is 6-foot-4, is a native of South Sudan who moved with his family to Arizona when he was 10 years old. He's now 22.  After graduating from high school in 2019, he was on the basketball roster at Pepperdine University four years, but seldom played. He received his bachelor's degree from the California school last spring and is a graduate student at Mines with one more year of basketball eligibility.   
 
Deng made 12 of his 20 field goal shots against the Eagles, including 5-of-8 on 3-pointers, and all 13 of his free throws. He entered the game averaging 15.8 points a game. 
             
His 42 points are the most scored by a Mines' player since Stephen Bahl tallied 50 against South Dakota Mines in 2004-05. They are the most posted against the Eagles since Colorado Mesa's Ryan Stephan also had 42 in 2015-16.
             
Five others have tallied at least 42 points against the Eagles over the years, topped by seven-footer Don Boldebuck's 47 in a game in Chadron when he was playing for Nebraska Wesleyan in 1951-52.
             
Neither Colorado Mines nor the Eagles was on fire early in Saturday night's game. Chadron State's only lead was at 14-13 after John Jenkins dunked a short pass from fellow post player Porter Anderson midway in the opening half.
             
Mines soon regained the lead but was ahead by only 26-21 with two minutes remaining in the half before going on a 9-2 run that included Deng's half-court 3-pointer which put his team ahead 35-23 at intermission.
             
The visitors shot just 40% (14-35) from the field and the Eagles only 34.6% (9-26) in the first half. Mines warmed up to 61% (11-18) in the second half while the hosts dipped to 25% (8-32).
             
The loss was the sixth in a row for the Eagles, but the only one that was lopsided.  Each of the remaining five was decided by only five points or in overtime.  Anderson was CSC's leading scorer with 14 points, including going 8-of-8 at the free throw line.  Bryce Latimer also scored in double digits with 12 points.
             
The Eagles are 11-15 and 8-12.  They'll conclude their season this coming weekend by playing at South Dakota Mines on Friday night and at Black Hills State on Saturday.   
              
Colorado Mines—Majok Deng 42, Sam Beskind 7, Riley Schroeder 6, Adam Krasovec 6, Reagan Koch 5, Alex Romack 4, Cade Mankle 2, Markus Pastorcic-Straun 2. Totals 25-53, 7-17 17-21 74 points, 39 rebounds, 9 turnovers, 16 assists.
             
Chadron State—Porter Anderson 14, Bryce Latimer 12, Jarrett Taylor 9, Jalen Patterson 7, Josh Robinson 6, Martin Poznanovic 6, John Jenkins 2. Totals: 17-58 (2-17) 20-24 56 points, 33 rebounds, 6 turnovers, 8 assists. 
              Colorado Mines                   35             39          ----74
              Chadron State                      23             33          ----56
              3-pointers: CSM—Deng 5, Beskind 1, Reagan 1. CSC—Taylor 1, Patterson 1

Second half pushes Orediggers past Eagles

CHADRON, Neb. -- Ashley Steffeck scored 33 points and the Colorado School of Mines Orediggers outscored the Chadron State women's basketball team 47-25 in the second half on way to winning 83-72 Saturday night in the Chicoine Center.
 
The loss drops CSC to 6-18 overall and 4-16 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. Mines improves to 20-6 overall and 15-5 in conference play.
 
Chadron State led 47-36 at halftime after outscoring their opponent by two points in the first period and nine in the second.
 
The Orediggers responded in the second half with defensive adjustments that held CSC to 12 points in the third quarter and 13 in the fourth. At the conclusion of the third period, the Eagles led 59-58 before the Orediggers scored the first nine points of the final period to take the lead.
 
A total of 56 fouls were called and 74 free throws were shot in the game.
 
The Eagles outshot their opponents in the loss, making 20-43 attempts (46.5%) from the field. They made 4-11 (36.4%) attempts from three and made an outstanding 28 free throws in 32 attempts (87.5%).
 
The cold shooting Orediggers made 22-68 (32.4 %) shots from the field. Mines struggled from behind the arc, making 5-25 (20%) attempts but shot ten more free throws, making 34-42 (81%).
 
The Eagles won the rebound battle 38 to 37 but committed 24 turnovers in the loss compared to their opponents seven turnovers. Mines scored 32 points off CSC's 24 turnovers while the Eagles recorded eight points from the Orediggers seven turnovers. Of the Orediggers 37 rebounds, 20 were offensive.
 
Steffeck only made 8-27 attempts from the field and 2-11 from three but finished 15-16 from the charity stripe. She was joined in double digits by Loralee Stock who scored 17.
 
Chadron State had four players score in double-digits, led by Ashayla Powers and Allison Olsen with 15 apiece. Powers, a junior from Longmont, Colorado, added 13 rebounds to finish with a double-double and Olsen, a sophomore from Douglas, Wyoming, finished second on the team with five boards.
 
Liberty Line and Olivia Waufle added 13 and 11 points, respectively.
 
The Eagles conclude their season next weekend when they Play South Dakota Mines on Friday and Black Hills State on Saturday. Friday's game in Rapid City, South Dakota will begin at 5:30 p.m., while Saturday's in Spearfish tips off at 4 p.m.

Nine Eagles receive First Team All-Conference Honors

SPEARFISH, S.D. -- A total of nine Chadron State track and field athletes placed in the top three to earn first team all-conference honors at the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference championships in Spearfish, South Dakota on Friday and Saturday.
 
As a team, the Chadron State women finished ninth with 17 points while the men placed fifth with 47.5. Colorado School of Mines won both titles, scoring 154 points in the women team rankings and 145 in the mens.
 
In addition to the nine first team honorees, a total of seven Eagles placed fourth through sixth for second team all-conference honors.
 
"This team stepped up and competed next level this weekend," Head Coach Jake Gruver said.
 
Madyson Schliep, a graduate student from Grand Island, Nebraska, was the only women's athlete to receive first team honors for CSC.
 
In the women's weight throw, Schliep uncorked a throw of 16.94 meters (55'7") on her final attempt to receive third place by over three feet. The throw was a new personal best for Schliep, who entered the event ranked seventh.
 
A total of three men's athletes finished in second place in their respective events.
 
On the track, Creighton Trembly, a junior from Longmont, Colorado, once again ran a provisional qualifying time to place second, crossing the finish line in 8.13 seconds.
 
Chayton Bynes, a freshman from Chadron, and Christopher Jennings, a junior from O'Neil, Nebraska, won silver in the triple jump and weight throw, respectively.
 
Bynes hit a provisional qualifying mark of 15.09 meters (49' 6.25") on his fifth attempt in triple jump while Jennings threw a provisional qualifying mark of 18.65 meters (61' 2.25") on his third throw in the weight.
 
The last individual to place top three was Ryan Clapper in the 200-meter finals. Clapper, a freshman from Veterans, Wyoming, ran his race in 22 seconds flat to place third.
 
Also placing in the 200 meters was Quincy Efeturi. Efeturi, a junior from Ikorodu, Nigeria, earned second team honors with a sixth-place finish in 22.48 seconds.
 
The final four individuals to earn first team honors were Trembly, Jacob Jefferson, Greg Logsdon and Logan Peila in the men's 4 x 400 relay. Chadron State finished third as a team with a time of 3:25.31. The winners of the event were UCCS who ran a provisional qualifying time of 3:18.91.
 
Kinsey Poulson, Allison Beard, Misti Schlabach and Alissa Wieman all received second team honors and a sixth-place finish for the CSC women after running the distance medley relay in 12:45.45.
 
In the field, Tayler Wessely placed sixth in the shot put. Wessely, a sophomore from Parkersburg, Iowa, hit 12.87 meters (42' 2.75") on her second attempt of the competition before fouling all three attempts in the finals.
 
The last Eagle who received second team honors was Kaden Dower in the men's heptathlon. Dower, a junior from Riverton, Wyoming, scored a new personal best of 4476 points to place fifth.  
 
Dower's marks in the 60 meters, shot put, high jump, 60-meter hurdles and 1000-meter run were all new personal bests in the event.
 
"I've been to a decent number of RMAC meets, both as an athlete and a coach, and I can genuinely say that the cloud nine I'm on after this RMAC's is a significant step above the rest," Gruver said.
 
Eagle athletes will wait to see if anyone qualifies for the NCAA DII Indoor Championships on March 8 – 10 in Pittsburg, Kansas.

Softball struggles on day two in Pueblo

PUEBLO, Colo. -- After having 17 runs in two games Saturday, the Chadron State softball team was only able to score four total runs in two games on Sunday, falling to the CSU-Pueblo Thunderwolves 8-3 and 2-1.
 
In the two losses, CSC was outhit 20 to 13 and had six defensive errors compared to its opponents zero. The Eagles are now 3-15 overall and 3-5 in RMAC play. Pueblo improves to 5-14 overall and is also 3-5 in conference play.
 
In game one, both teams scored two runs in the first inning. The Thunderwolves added four more in the second to gain the lead, in which they never lost.
 
With two outs in the top of the first, a Jessie Henchenski single started a run for the Chadron State offense. Ashland Baca and Lauren Zimmerman each followed with a single of their own, giving Zimmerman an RBI and Henchenski the first run of the game.
 
CSC next batter, Mackenzi Kroll, a senior from Brighton, Colorado, hit a double to left center that brought Baca home and gave the Eagles a 2-0 lead.
 
After a base hit by Pueblo's leadoff batter, the Thunderwolves used a sacrifice bunt to advance the runner to second. Caitlyn Cole layed down another bunt for Pueblo and was able to reach second on an error by the Chadron State defense that brought the first run for the hosts home.
 
Cole advanced to third on a groundout and was brought home to tie the game by an RBI double. Both teams left two runners on base at the conclusion of the inning.
 
After an out on the first batter in the bottom of the second inning, Pueblo's next six batters managed to get on base. The hosts had four hits and drew two walks in the half inning to gain a 6-2 lead.

 The Eagles added one run to their deficit in the top of the third inning. Henchenski, a senior from Fort Collins, Colorado, started the inning with a double down the right field line but was ruled out due to a fielder's choice on the next play.
 
Zimmerman, a junior from Reno, Nevada, hit a one out double down the right field line that advanced Baca to third. Baca, a senior from Pueblo West, Colorado, was brought home by a Kroll sacrifice fly.
 
Pueblo added one run in the bottom of the fourth and another in the bottom of the sixth inning. In the fourth, a double brought a runner home from second while a single did the same in the sixth inning.
 
Kenzi Garner, a junior from Broomfield, Colorado, received the loss on the mound for CSC. Garner pitched 1.2 innings while allowing six hits and six runs, four being earned. Brooklyn Levin, a freshman from Littleton, Colorado, allowed six hits and two runs in 4.1 innings of work.
 
Chadron State finished with eight hits and two errors in the loss.
 
Scoring didn't start until the top of the fifth inning in CSC's 2-1 game two loss.
 
Zimmerman recorded CSC's second hit of the game with a lead off double to left field. After Zimmerman was pinch ran for by Jolynn Niegocki, a sophomore from Tuscon, Arizona, Kroll advanced her to third on a pop fly.
 
Sophia Brennan, a freshman from Wahoo, Nebraska, brought Niegocki home with a single up the middle, giving CSC a 1-0 lead and their only run of the game. The half inning was ended with a double-play by the Thunderwolve defense.
 
Pueblo tied the game in the bottom of the sixth inning. After Cole hit a single and advanced to second on one of four errors by CSC in the game, she stole third and reached home on another CSC defensive error.
 
With the score knotted at one heading to the bottom of the seventh, Pueblo started the half inning with two singles. After scoring a run in the previous inning to tie the game, Cole hit a walk-off RBI double to right center, giving the Thunderwolves a 2-1 walk off victory.
 
Tori Haug, a senior from Commerce City, Colorado, received the loss in the circle in 6.1 innings of work. She allowed eight hits and two runs, one being earned. Haug finished with a new season high seven strikeouts in the loss.
 
CSC had five hits and four errors in the game.
 
Chadron State softball has its home opener next on the schedule. The Eagles will host UCCS on Saturday March 2 and Sunday March 3.

Four Eagles qualify for nationals

DENTON, Tex. -- A total of four Chadron State women's wrestlers qualified for the 2024 National Collegiate Women's Wrestling Championships by placing top four at the NCWWC Region V Wrestling Tournament held in Denton, Texas on Sunday.
 
Kamila Montenegro, a senior from Las Vegas, Nevada, became the second regional champion in school history by going 3-0 at 191 pounds. Ana Rojas-Zamora was the runner-up at 123 pounds to qualify while Heavynne Robles-Wright and Mana Chanthasone placed fourth in their respective weight classes to punch a ticket.
 
The Eagles finished fourth out of ten teams in the team standings with 109.5 points. Colorado Mesa won the title with 221 points and Simon Fraser finished second with 207 points. It is the second consecutive year that CSC has had one champion and three other qualifiers at the regional tournament.
 
Chanthasone, a freshman from Liberal, Kansas had to wrestle a true fourth place match to earn her ticket to the championships in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on March 8 and 9.
 
After receiving a first-round bye, Chanthasone was defeated by the eventual 101-pound champion from Colorado Mesa in the semifinals. Her first match in the consolation bracket was against her teammate, Britley Lopez. Lopez, a sophomore from Borger, Texas, was defeated by Gina Bolognese of Simon Fraser in the quarterfinals.
 
Chanthasone won the battle of teammates with an 11-0 tech fall, earning herself a match against Bolognese for third place. Bolognese was victorious in the match but due to Ava McNeal of Sioux Falls winning the fifth-place match and not having wrestled Chanthasone yet, a true fourth place match was needed.
 
The freshman from Kansas was victorious with a 9-7 decision for CSC, booking herself a ticket to the national championships.
 
At 109 pounds, Robles-Wright, a sophomore from Las Cruces, New Mexico, received a first round by to advance to the quarterfinals. In the quarters, Robles-Wright was victorious with a 10-0 tech fall.  
 
In the semifinals, Robles-Wright suffered a 9-4 defeat to the eventual champion, Isabella Morales. Morales's victories were by fall in 0:20, a 10-0 tech fall, her decision over Robles-Wright and a fall in 4:13 in the championship.
 
Waiting for Robles-Wright in the consolation bracket was her teammate, Brianna Vollendroff. Vollendroff, a sophomore from Oroville, California, scored the first points of the match but suffered a 10-3 defeat.
 
The #7 ranked wrestler in the nation, Ivy Threatful of Simon Fraser, defeated Robles-Wright in the third-place match but both qualified for the NCAA Championships.
 
Rojas-Zamora, a sophomore from Sweeny, Texas, went 3-1 to earn silver and clinch her own ticket at 123 pounds.
 
After winning by fall in 0:57 in round one and by 3:15 in the quarterfinals, Rojas-Zamora used a 16-6 tech fall in the semifinals to earn a spot in the championship.
 
Victoria Seal, the #8 ranked wrestler from Simon Fraser, recorded her fourth consecutive 10-0 tech fall in the championship match to place Rojas-Zamora second.
 
The Eagles last qualifier was regional champion Montenegro at 191 pounds. While being the only undefeated wrestler on the day for CSC, her matches contained high levels of excitement.
 
In the quarterfinals, Montenegro earned a 3-2 decision over Symphanie Sampson of Schreiner. The match was tied with 2:00 minutes left in the final period when Sampson scored a point to gain a 2-1 lead due to Montenegro receiving two passive warnings.
 
Montenegro made a shot in the final ten seconds to score two points with seven seconds remaining to earn the victory.
 
Trailing 5-2 in the semifinals, a four-point slam was used by Montenegro with 1:23 remaining to gain a 6-5 lead. She was able to hold onto the 6-5 decision while earning a spot in the regional championship.
 
Montenegro dominated the gold medal match on way to winning with a 12-0 tech and becoming the second regional champion in Chadron State women's wrestling history.
 
Vollendroff at 109 pounds and Maria Arellano, a sophomore from Fresno, California, at 170 pounds, both finished one spot away from qualifying in fifth.
 
Five other Eagles placed sixth in the tournament and one placed eighth.
 
The four national qualifiers will now prepare for the 2024 National Collegiate Women's Wrestling Championships in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on March 8 and 9.