CHADRON, Neb. – Five Chadron State College players scored in double figures Saturday night as the Eagles downed Nebraska-Kearney 87-71 in a men's non-conference basketball game played in Chadron. The win was the Eagles' fourth in the last seven games between the longtime in-state rivals.  
             
Zy Wright and Treyson Neff finished with 16 points, Jalen Thomas had 15, Darrius Miles had 14 and John Jenkins 13 for Chadron State, who is now 3-4 on the season. All five scorers started the game for CSC except Neff, who came off the bench about six minutes into the game.

The 16 points are a Division II career high in the young NCAA career of Treyson Neff, who transferred to CSC this year from College of the Redwoods in California. At halftime, Neff was the game's leading scorer with 11 points after sinking 3 of 4 three-pointers and also nailing a jumper from inside the arc. He finished 4 of 9 from beyond the arc.

Both teams finished with 27 total field goals, but the Eagles sank nine three-pointers, three more than Kearney, and outscored the visitors by 13 points at the free throw line, where CSC was 24-of-29 and UNK was 11-of-15. 

Much of the difference at the charity stripe occurred late in the contest, when the Lopers frequently putting the Eagles at the line in an effort to slow down the clock. The hosts responded by making seven of their last eight free shots in the final two minutes and 18 seconds. Zy Wright led the Eagles from the line, making 8 of 10 free throw attempts for the bulk of his 16 points.

The Eagles jumped out to an early 4-0 lead. UNK took a 7-6 lead three-and-a-half minutes after tipoff, but two free throws from Zy Wright put the Eagles back in front. With the score tied at 10-10, Wright hit back-to-back threes to put Chadron State up 16-10, and the Eagles led the rest of the way.

Chadron State was on top 39-29 at halftime. In the second half, the difference dipped below 10 points just once, when UNK battled back to make it 57-48 with 10:26 left to play. Senior John Jenkins hit a layup 25 seconds later put the Eagles ahead by 11 and they led by at least that margin the rest of the way. Their largest lead was 21 points—81-60—with 3:22 left on the clock.

Like its scoring, Chadron State's rebounding was balanced. Thomas pulled down seven boards while Jenkins, Miles and Wright each grabbed six. For the game, CSC finished with 44 rebounds, two more than UNK. 

The Eagles shot 43.5 percent from the field, 30 percent from three and 83 percent from the line. UNK shot just 35.5 percent from the line, 17.6 percent from three-point land and 73 percent from the stripe. Jalen Thomas (7-11) and John Jenkins (4-7) both shot better than 50 percent from the field for Chadron State. 

The Eagles won despite UNK holding the edge in points in the paint (40-28), fastbreak points (17-10) and points off turnovers (16-8). Chadron State's bench outscored UNK's 29-12.

The Lopers are now 1-5 for the season. Two players—5-10 Ja'Bryant Hill and 6-3 Allen Taylor—led Kearney in both scoring and rebounding. Each totaled 20 points, while Hill claimed nine rebounds, one more than Taylor.  

Chadron State will launch its conference schedule at home this coming Thursday night, Dec. 5. South Dakota Mines will be the Eagles' guest at the Chicoine Center, with tipoff set for 7 p.m. after the women's game.

Nebraska-Kearney—Ja'Bryant Hill 20, Allen Taylor 20, Chereef Knox 9, Clayton Moore 8, Chase Thompson 7, Trey Hepburn 4, Elijah Knudsen 3. Totals: 27-76 (6-34) 11-15 71 points, 43 rebounds, 17 assists, 13 turnovers.

Chadron State—Treyson Neff 16, Zy Wright 16, Jalen Thomas 15, Darrius Miles 14, John Jenkins 13, Julio Phillips 7, Trey Ballard 6. Totals 27-62 (9-30) 24-29 87 points, 44 rebounds, 13 assists, 15 turnovers.

              Nebraska-Kearney          26            45          ----71
              Chadron State                  39           48          ----87
              3-pointers: UNK—Taylor 3, Knudsen, Thompson, Knox, all 1. CSC—Neff 4, Wright 2, Jenkins, Miles, Ballard, all 1.

Lopers Defeat Eagles Saturday Afternoon

CHADRON, Neb. – Nebraska-Kearney took charge of the game in the third quarter, as the Lopers outscored Chadron State 29-13 in the period on their way to an 86-59 women's basketball victory over the Eagles Saturday afternoon in the Chicoine Center. 

Guard Camren Morris led Chadron State with 18 points on 8 of 13 shooting. Ashayla Powers added 16 points, eight rebounds and two steals, making 5 of 10 field goal attempts and 6 of 6 free throws. 

With the loss, Chadron State falls to 1-5 ahead of their RMAC conference opener next Thursday. Nebraska-Kearney improved to 6-2. 

The visiting Lopers enjoyed a 50-32 advantage in points in the paint. Grad student forward Kia Wilson had a game-high 19 points and shot a perfect 9-for-9 from the field. Nebraska-Kearney out-rebounded CSC 43-28, which included 16 offensive rebounds that led to 23 second-chance points for UNK.

For the game, Chadron State shot 39 percent from the field, 21 percent from three (5-23) and 67 percent from the line (10-15). Nebraska-Kearney shot 52 percent from the field, 36 percent from three (5-14) and 58 percent from the line, making 21 of 36 attempts.

The two teams went back-and-forth in the early going. After a UNK three-pointer on the opening possession, Chadron State used two Powers free throws and a Camren Morris three to take a 5-3 lead. Another mini 5-0 run by the Eagles courtesy of a Kylie Krise three and Powers layup put the home team up 10-7 four minutes into the game. 

The Lopers went on a big run over the second half of the first quarter, however, using a 14-2 run to flip that three-point deficit into a 23-14 lead. They would maintain that advantage over the second quarter, outscoring the Eagles by one point (14-13) in period two to lead it 37-27 as the teams headed to the locker room.

Nebraska-Kearney put the game out of reach with their 16-point advantage across the third period. In the third quarter, the Lopers shot 69 percent from the field as a team and made both their three-point attempts. The Eagles cut the lead down to 21 points on two occasions in the fourth quarter before settling on the 27-point final margin of victory.

The Eagles finished with 13 assists and 18 turnovers, compared to 17 assists and 14 turnovers for UNK. The Lopers had a 16-4 advantage in fastbreak points and a 34-15 advantage in bench points.

The Chadron State women's team will begin its RMAC conference schedule with a Thursday game against South Dakota Mines at home in the Chicoine Center. Tipoff will be at 5 p.m.

Chadron State— Camren Morris 18, Ashayla Powers 16, Allison Richards 7, Megan Counts 7, Kylie Krise 3, McKenzi Petersen 3, Jordyn Stokes 2, Olivia Waufle 2, Bati Assefa 1. Totals: 22-56 FG, 5-23 3PT, 10-15 FT. 59 points, 28 rebounds, 13 assists, 18 turnovers.

Nebraska-Kearney— Kia Wilson 19, Bailee Sobczak 16, Jillian Aschoff 14, Saniya Simmons 11, Brinly Christensen 8, Meg Burns 6, Samantha Moore 5, Jordan Sears 3, Alex Flattery 2, Alma Rashelbach 2. Totals: 30-58 FG, 5-14 3PT, 21-36 FT. 86 points, 43 rebounds, 17 assists, 14 turnovers.

Balcazar Leads Three Places At Hays Open

FORT HAYS, Kan. – A partial contingent of the Chadron State women's wrestling team competed Sunday at the Bob Smith Women's Open hosted by Fort Hays State University and performed well, with three out of five participating Eagle wrestlers placing.

Freshman Rylee Balcazar led the way with a second-place finish at the 110-pound weight class. The Fort Lupton, Colorado native stormed through the bracket with a 24-second pin in the first round, an 11-0 tech fall win in the second round and another pin in the semi before coming up short to Fort Hays State's Isabella Cross in the final. 

Junior Britley Lopez, the only non-freshman of the five competing Eagles, placed fourth at 103 pounds. Lopez suffered a loss to Fort Hays State's Hannah Selle in her first match, but rallied through the consolation bracket, earning two wins by fall sandwiched around a narrow 7-6 decision win. That earned a rematch with Selle in the third-place match, but the Fort Hays wrestler pinned Lopez for the second time on the day.

Chadron State's final placer was another freshman as Arvada, Colorado's Sicily Frates, who took home sixth place in the 180-pound weight class. Frates's tournament included a head-to-head win over an RMAC opponent as she defeated Adams State's Abigail Wold by fall in just 50 seconds. 

Freshman Trona Bates, who went 1-2, and Maddox Gellhausen, who went 0-2, both competed at 124 pounds and were the other two Eagles to compete in Fort Hays. 

Chadron State women's wrestling will compete at home for the first time this upcoming weekend. The Eagles will host the Chadron State duals on Friday, December 6, with CSC competing against Minot State, Jamestown, Texas Woman's and Simon Fraser. The Eagles will also host the Chadron State College Open on Saturday, December 7.