CHADRON, Neb. – Despite a dominant double-double from Isaiah Randolph, Chadron State men's basketball came a couple baskets short against New Mexico Highlands as the visiting Cowboys gutted out an 88-84 victory over the Eagles in the Chicoine Center on Saturday. 

The Cowboys were just tantalizingly out of reach for practically the entire game. While NMHU held the lead for nearly 30 minutes, or three-quarters of the game, the Cowboys never led by more than seven at any point and led by between one and four points for the entire final four minutes of the contest.

Randolph did his part, setting Chadron State career-highs with 29 points and 12 rebounds. Randolph was 7 of 13 from the field and a staggering 15 of 17 from the free-throw line. In addition, seven of Randolph's 12 rebounds were offensive boards as the Eagles corralled 19 offensive rebounds as a team. 

Those offensive rebounds and extra chances helped the Eagles keep it close on a night where they were handily outshot. New Mexico Highlands made 59 percent of its field goal attempts (29-49), including a 65 percent mark in the second half. The Cowboys were also 46.9 percent from three and 76.7 percent from the line. 

Chadron State shot just 35.3 percent from the field and 26.3 percent from three (10-38), but were 83.9 percent from the line (26-31). The Cowboys outrebounded the Eagles 34-32, but because of Chadron State's 19 offensive rebounds, the Eagles had 68 total field goal attempts compared to just 49 by NMHU. 

Jadon Cool chipped in 19 points while Mack Keighran backed up his 30-point night from Thursday with an 18-point performance. Those two did most of CSC's damage from beyond the arc as Keighran (four) and Cool (three) combined for seven of Chadron State's 10 three-pointers. 

Chadron State had 13 offensive rebounds in the first half to trail by just five at halftime – 37-32 – despite shooting 27 percent from the field and 19 percent from three in the opening 20 minutes. A mini 5-0 run that saw Zach Smith hit a three, Blessing Adesipe get a steal on the ensuing possession and a fastbreak shooting foul drawn by Cool, who converted both free throws, made it 47-47 for the first tie score of the second half with 14:15 to play. 

The Eagles briefly took a three-point lead when Mack Keighran hit a three, but a 6-0 Cowboys run made it 53-50. The Eagles rallied to tie the score twice more at 64-64, 66-66 and 69-69 after Cool and NMHU's Ramiah Adedigba hit dueling threes.

On the next Eagle possession, CSC scrambled to keep a loose ball alive and found Smith in the corner for a miracle three that seemingly put the home team ahead by three, but upon replay review, Smith did not get the shot off before the shot clock buzzer and CSC turned it over. Highlands capitalized by scoring the next four points and maintained their one-to-four-point cushion for the rest of the game. CSC came within one numerous times, but didn't attempt a game-tying shot until Jadon Cool and Ethan Russell both missed threes with CSC trailing 85-82 with 20 seconds left. 

Chadron State is now 3-12 and 1-7 in the RMAC. New Mexico Highlands improves to 6-13 overall, but 4-4 in conference. 

The Eagles play at Westminster (7-9, 2-6 RMAC) on Thursday and Colorado Mesa (10-6, 6-2 RMAC) on Saturday.

?Chadron State—Isaiah Randolph 29, Jadon Cool 19, Mack Keighran 18, Zach Smith 7, Ethan Russell 6, Collin Nick 3, Blessing Adesipe 2. Totals: 24-68 FG (10-38 3PT) 26-31 FT. 84 points, 32 rebounds, 11 assists, 12 turnovers.

?New Mexico Highlands—Marcus Pierce 21, Ramiah Adedigba 18, BJ Comer 14, Dontae Walker 12, Nikk Williams 12, Caileb Parham 5, Ibrahima Sacko 4, Wesley Isoje 2. Totals: 29-49 FG (7-15 3PT) 23-30 FT. 88 points, 34 rebounds, 14 assists, 18 turnovers.

Eagles drop Saturday game to NMHU

CHADRON, Neb. - Sisters Kapiolani and Kamalani Anitielu joined forces to score 37 points, exactly half their team's total, on Saturday afternoon as the New Mexico Highlands Cowgirls downed Chadron State 74-54 in a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference basketball game played in Chadron.

Kapiolani scored 19 points, 12 of them in the first half, while Kamalani tallied 18 points, 11 in the second half. The win improves Highlands to 7-9 for the season and 3-6 in the RMAC. The Chadron State women are now 1-12 and 1-7 in conference.

The Eagles were led by senior McKenzi Petersen with 12 points. No one else reached double figures for the Eagles, but Dreanna Jackson and Ella Moser each finished with eight points. Amya Winfrey stuffed the sheet for CSC with seven points and a game-high seven rebounds plus a block and a steal, while point guard Kenna Wagner had six points, four rebounds and a game-high five assists.

The Eagles got off to a strong start, making seven of 13 field goal shots, including three of six 3-pointers and three of four free throws, while taking a 20-15 first quarter lead.
However, the Cowgirls outscored CSC 21-9 in the second period to own a 36-29 halftime advantage and outscored the hosts 38-25 in the second half for the victory.

The fourth quarter when Highlands outscored the Eagles 22-11 made a big difference in the final point spread.

For the game, Highlands sank 30 of its 62 field goal shots for 48.4 percent, while the Eagles were 21 of 50 from the field for 42 percent. The visitors made six 3-pointers and eight free throws, both one more than Chadron State.

The Eagles out-rebounded Highlands 34-29, but turned the ball over 24 times while the Cowgirls had only 10. The latter totals were a big reason why the New Mexico team was able to take 12 more shots from the field than the Eagles.

Both Anitielu sisters shot the ball effectively. Kapitielu was seven of 10 from the field and Kamalani was eight of 12, giving them 15 baskets in 22 attempts for 68 percent between the two of them. They also combined for nine steals. None of their teammates had more than two.

The Eagles will hit the road next week, traveling to the far west of the RMAC to face Westminster (3-11, 0-8 RMAC) on Thursday and Colorado Mesa (18-1, 8-0 RMAC) on Saturday.

New Mexico Highlands-Kapiolani Anitielu 19, Kamalani Anitielu 18, Adrianna Torrez 10, Hailey Long 9, Aniya Johnson 9, Essynce Contreaz 4, Melika Samia 3, Jaelyn Bates 2. Totals: 30-62 FG, (6-21 3 PT), 8-15 FT, 74 points, 29 rebounds, 13 assists, 10 turnovers.

Chadron State-McKenzi Petersen 12, Dreanna Jackson 8, Ella Moser 8, Amya Winfrey 7, Kenna Wagner 6, Audrey Quintana 6, Alex Ridenour 3, Evelyn Old Coyote 2, Keziah Toran 2. Totals: 21-50 FG, (5-19 3PT), 7-11 FT, 54 points, 34 rebounds, 11 assists, 24 turnovers.

Women's Wrestling Drops Two Duals in Canada

BURNABY, B.C. – Chadron State women's wrestling finished on the south end of two duals north of the border, losing 35-11 to Simon Fraser and 27-17 to Menlo College.
 
With the two defeats, Chadron State's dual record dropped to 4-5. The loss to Simon Fraser is the Eagles' first in conference play as CSC is now 2-1 with one RMAC dual remaining. Simon Fraser has clinched the women's wrestling RMAC regular season title with a 4-0 dual record against league opponents. 

Rylee Balcazar was CSC's standout wrestler on the day, earning two victories and a combined nine dual points for the Eagles at 110 pounds. Balcazar earned a tech fall win over Simon Fraser's Gina Bolognese and then pinned Menlo's Kayla McKinley-Johnson in the second dual of the day. 

Chadron State ran into a buzzsaw in Simon Fraser. Balcazar at 110 was CSC's only win on the mat, as the Eagles picked up five points with a forfeit at 103 and single points from losses at 124 and 207. 

The competition was stiff. Three of the 10 wrestlers in SFU's dual lineup were ranked in the top seven in the nation at their respective weights by the NWCA – No. 7 131-pounder Ella Finding, No. 5 145-pounder Liv Weiber and No. 6 207-pounder Jayleen Sekona, who won a high-profile showdown with CSC's Esther Peters (NR by NWCA, No. 8 The Open Mat).

In the Menlo dual, Chadron State jumped out to a 12-0 lead after a tech fall win from Brianna Vollendroff, Balcazar's pin and a 6-0 decision win by Adrianna Lopez at 117 pounds. Menlo roared back to take the next six weight classes, however, earning pins at 131 and 180 and tech falls at 124, 145 and 160. 

Menlo also benefitted at 138 when Nevaeh Leonard had to exit with an injury while trailing 4-2 in a competitive match. The injury default gave a full five points to Menlo. Chadron State got five points back at heavyweight with a forfeit win awarded to Peters.

The Chadron State Eagles have one more dual – on the road against Sioux Falls on January 25 – prior to the RMAC Championships on January 31. While Simon Fraser has the regular season title locked up by dual format, the championships in Colorado Springs will award individual titles at each weight class as well as a team tournament title.