CHADRON, Neb. – For the second game in a row, the Chadron State men's basketball team rallied from a 15-plus point deficit in the second half. Unlike the previous game, however, the Eagles' comeback fell just short as Colorado School of Mines survived with a 74-72 win over CSC on Saturday.

Chadron State trailed by 16 points – 59-43 – with just over 10 minutes to go in the game, but the Eagles again showed second-half resilience after their Thursday 21-point comeback against MSU Denver. The Eagles cut the Oredigger lead to a single point on three occasions in the final four minutes, but the final point proved elusive.

CSC's first shot with a chance to take the lead came with three seconds to go, when Isaiah Randolph missed a contested layup and Zach Smith was fouled on the floor while grabbing an offensive rebound. 

With 1.9 seconds left and trailing 73-72, the Eagles had an opportunity at the line to tie or take the lead, but CSC missed the front end of a one-and-one and Mines rebounded to seal it. 

Randolph filled the box score, finishing with 18 points and again shooting over 50 percent from the field (7-13) while adding seven rebounds and a game-high five assists. 

Jadon Cool scored a game-high 19 points on 7-for-18 shooting while Blessing Adesipe and Zach Smith scored 10 points apiece to give CSC four in double figures. Luka Djurovic had two points but made a substantial impact on the defensive end with 10 rebounds and three steals.

The Eagles shot 42.2 percent from the field, 28.6 percent from three (8-28) and only 58.8 percent from the line (10-17), CSC's fourth-lowest FT percentage this season. The Orediggers were marginally better, hitting 44.8 percent from the field, 36 percent from three and 86.7 percent from the line (13-15).

Chadron State outscored Mines 34-28 in the paint despite the Orediggers out-rebounding CSC 44-27. Two Mines players recorded double-doubles – Jonathan Moore (16 pts, 10 rebounds) and Alex Romack (13 pts, 10 rebounds).

The Eagles also took care of the basketball, committing a season-low four turnovers, which is also the fewest in a game that Mines has forced this year. 

Despite the late drama, Mines led wire-to-wire. They jumped out to a 9-0 lead, were up 22-9 after 10 minutes, and led by 13 at halftime. Unlike the MSU Denver game, when Chadron State took control immediately out of the locker room at halftime, Mines continued to extend their lead and were up by as many as 17 with 12:41 left.

The big run for Chadron State came in the final 10 minutes, as the Eagles outscored the Orediggers 29-15 over the final 10:08. Isaiah Randolph and Zach Smith combined for a 7-0 run consisting of a Randolph layup, Smith three off a Randolph assist and Smith fastbreak layup off a Randolph steal to cut the deficit to 59-50.

Another 7-0 run with a Randolph layup and back-to-back Randolph-assisted Jackson Schauer buckets – a layup and a three – cut the deficit to just four at 61-57.

The teams traded baskets as CSC climbed within one at 65-64 and 67-66, but each time, the Orediggers scored so that Chadron State never took possession with a chance to take the lead until the final seconds. 

Blessing Adesipe hit a big three-pointer to bring the Eagles within two at 73-71, but the Eagles would go just 1-for-3 from the line in the final minute. After Mines's rebound with less than a second left, Alex Romack hit the first before intentionally missing the second to effectively end the game. 

The Eagles (6-18, 4-12 RMAC) are on the road next week against Fort Lewis and Adams State.

​Chadron State—Jadon Cool 19, Isaiah Randolph 18, Zach Smith 10, Blessing Adesipe 10, Jackson Schauer 8, Mack Keighran 5, Luka Djurovic 2. Totals: 27-64 FG (8-28 3PT) 10-17 FT. 72points, 27 rebounds, 9 assists, 4 turnovers.

​Colorado School of Mines—Jonathan Moore 16, Alex Romack 13, Trent Minter 12, Shelton Henton 10, Braydon Jacob 8, Kellon Johnson 6, Will Cordonnier 4, Silas McCurnin 3, Derek Lamb 2. Totals: 26-58 FG (9-25 3PT) 13-15 FT. 74 points, 44 rebounds, 14 assists, 13 turnovers.

Eagles Can't Hit From Outside in Loss

CHADRON, Neb. – Chadron State won the turnover battle but couldn't make enough shots, as the Eagles fell to Colorado School of Mines 79-51 in a Saturday afternoon contest at the Chicoine Center.

The Eagles (1-20, 1-15 RMAC) received 14 points from Audrey Quintana and 13 from Ella Moser and tied a season-low eight turnovers as a team while forcing 13 Mines giveaways. That marks the second time in as many games this week that CSC has forced more turnovers than it committed, after doing that just twice in its first 19 games this season.

Chadron State struggled shooting the ball overall, however. The Eagles made 32.2 percent of their field goal attempts (19-59) and went made only 13.3 percent from beyond the arc (4-30). Chadron State made 9 of 13 free throw attempts. 

The Orediggers (13-14, 8-8 RMAC) also struggled from deep (3-15, 20 percent) but simply took it inside, scoring 40 points in the paint and finishing with an overall 55.4 percent field goal percentage (31-56). Mines racked up 21 assists, often using precision passing and off-ball movement to set up favorable looks on offense.

Mines's Sofia Baldessari, who entered as the second-leading scorer and third-leading rebounder in the conference, was dominant in recording a 33-point, 11-rebound double-double, her fifth 30-point game this year. Baldessari shot 14-for-20 from the field and was 11-for-13 on two-point attempts. 

Mines wasted no time at the start of the game. After the teams traded baskets early, the Orediggers went on a 14-0 run in five-and-a-half minutes to take a 16-2 and never trailed again. 

The visitors outscored the Eagles handily in the first quarter (24-9) and third quarter (21-8) while Chadron State kept it close in the second (17-14) and outscored Mines in the fourth and final period (20-17). Quintana scored eight second-quarter points while Moser scored 11 of her 13 points in the fourth quarter, shooting 4 of 7 from the field.

Defensively, Keziah Toran tallied three of CSC's nine steals on Saturday, with Moser chipping in two. McKenzi Petersen had a team-high four rebounds while Quintana and Teryn Stokes had three, but Mines outrebounded the Eagles 45-23 in the game.

Chadron State—Audrey Quintana 14, Ella Moser 13, McKenzi Petersen 9, Kenna Wagner 6, Evelyn Old Coyote 3, Bianca Bindzus 3, Dreanna Jackson 2, Jordyn Stokes 1. Totals: 19-59 FG (4-30 3PT) 9-13 FT. 51 points, 23 rebounds, 7 assists, 8 turnovers.

​Colorado School of Mines—Sofia Baldessari 33, Sophia Baal 16, Jade Leon 10, Jenna Shandy 7, Quincey Baum 3, Emma Sixta 2, Olivia Campbell 2, Emily Thomas 2, Lindsey Jones 2, Madison Gage 2. Totals: 31-56 FG (3-15 3PT) 14-21 FT. 79 points, 45 rebounds, 21 assists, 13 turnovers.

Eagles Flash at SDSU Classic

BROOKINGS, S.D. –  It was a long but beneficial day for the Chadron State College track and field team Saturday at the South Dakota State Indoor Classic, which featured 35 schools and massive fields in most events.

Chadron State's highlight occurred in the last event, when the men's 4x400 meter relay team finished second among 25 entries with a time of 3:14.58 that is the new school record. The quartet was comprised of Christopher Cormier, Ryan Clapper, Kaden Perez and Ayden Hartzell.  

Chadron State's new mark replaces the 3:15.33 that was set 10 years ago by Lane Higgins, Zerek Jones, Austin Fajfer and Martin Moriel, also at South Dakota State's spectacular indoor facility.
 
Prior to running in the relay, Clapper and Cormier had an interesting experience Saturday when they tied for fourth and fifth places in a 400-meter invitational race involving eight select runners. Their shared time of 48.37 seconds is CSC's third fastest ever. Only Joel Duffield's 47.22 in 2006 and Brodie Roden's 47.69 in 2020 are better.

Ayden Hartzell, who ran the anchor leg on Saturday's relay, also had a career-best 49.01 that was good for ninth after all the heats had been run in the open 400 race that involved 84 entries. 

Besides Clapper and Cormier who had the exact same time in their race, two more CSC sprinters, Austin Chiang and Esosa Iyengunmwena, also had the identical mark of 6.93 seconds during the preliminaries of the 60-meter dash early Saturday, sharing 14^th and 15^th places among the 29 contestants.

Head coach Jake Gruver was pleased that still another of his collection of speedsters was able to compete at SDSU. Freshman Josh St. Jean ran the Eagles' fastest time of 6.83 seconds in the 60 meters at the Birds and Bees Meet in early December, but had not competed since because of a hamstring issue. The coach entered St. Jean in the 200 this weekend and his protégé from Jamaica finished 13^th among the 92 entries.

Chadron State also had some good things happen in field events in Brookings. Saturday's highest placer was sophomore Camilla Salvucci, who was third in the triple jump by going 11.85 meters or 38 feet, 11 inches.  

Salvucci, the reigning RMAC Women's Field Athlete of the Week, had won her specialty at the Eagles' previous five meets this season and seems assured of being a national meet qualifier. 

Shelby Ekwall also placed sixth among 45 women in the shot put and Quade Jordan had his season-best marks in both of the men's shot put and weight throw.

On the men's side, Chayton Bynes bypassed the triple jump after he became NCAA Division II's national leader in that event a week ago by leaping 52-6.50. Bynes instead competing in the long jump, where he placed fourth by going 22-7.25 during his only attempt so he'd be qualified to enter it at the RMAC Meet the last weekend of February. 

                Following is a list of these and other CSC bright spots Saturday:     
Men's Results
                60 dash qualifying race—6, Augustin Chiang, 6.97 seconds.  (94 entries).
                60 dash preliminaries—14-15, tie between Augustin Chiang and Esosa Iyengunmwena, 6.93 seconds. (29 entries).
                200 dash—9, Joshua St. Jean, 22.26. Career best. (92 entries). 
                400 invitational—4-5 tie, Ryan Clapper and Christopher Cormier, 48.37. Both career-best times and CSC's third best time all-time. 
                400 open—9, Ayden Hartzell, 49.01. Career best. (84 entries). 
                Mile—25. Wyatt Bly, 4:16.59. Career best by 7.5 seconds. (100 entries.)
                4x400 relay—2, Chadron State (Christopher Cormier, Ryan Clapper, Kaden Perez, Ayden Hartzell). 3:14.58, School Record.  (25 teams).
                Shot put—15, Quade Jordan, 14.67 meters or 48-feet,1.75 inches.  Season best. (42 entries). 
                Weight throw—25, Quade Jordan, 15.07 meters or 49 feet, 6.5 inches. Season best by two feet. (43 entries). 
                Long jump—4, Chayton Bynes, 6.89 meters, 22-feet, 7.25 inches.  Season best. (40 entries).
Women's Results
                60 dash—30, Wongel Molla, 7.93 seconds. Career best. (74 entries).
                Mile—50, Lydia Peters, 5:19.59. Career best.  (100 entries),
                Shot put—6, Shelby Ekwall, 13.07 meters or 42 feet, 10.75 inches. (45 entries). 
                Triple jump—3, Camilla Salvucci, 11.85 meters or 38 feet, 11 inches.