Thanksgiving tourney proves unsuccessful
Over Thanksgiving break, while many families were dining over a turkey feast, the Chadron State Men’s basketball team was on the road to Salt Lake City for the Westminister College Thanksgiving Tournament. On Friday, the Eagles faced the Montana Tech Orediggers.
Action started slow as each team missed a couple jumpers, but CSC put a points on the board by two free throws made by Zac Bargen, junior guard of Chadron. After that, Chadron took off and led for most of the first half, by as much as 14 points. Kendrick Holliman, sophomore forward of Spanish Fort, Ala., and Bargen both hit a three-pointer in the first three minutes of the game which sparked the rest of the team. However, after a handful of turnovers, the Orediggers were able to catch up within six when the first half ended.
Montana Tech then responded by outscoring the Eagles 16-7 in the first seven minutes of the second half. Fouls were a constant factor in the game as the Eagles were guilty of 49 and the Orediggers were able to convert on them for points. The Orediggers took the lead with 14 minutes left in the half, with a jumper made by Bryant Bock, and kept it after that. They ended up scoring 58 points in the second half alone, compared to Chadron’s 37 points. Bargen led the Eagles with 22 points and six rebounds. However, Justyn Anderson, redshirt freshman point guard of Las Vegas, Nev., and David Downey, junior guard of Scottsbluff, each contributed 10 points, making CSC’s shooting percentage 34.5, while Montana Tech shot 46.3, leading them to the 94-69 victory.
“The loss to Montana gave us a bitter taste in our mouth because we led for most of the game and couldn’t finish it. It made us realize how important it is to play the full 40 minutes,” senior forward of Oakland, Calif., Josh Hatcher said.
Hatcher is the only senior on the team this year as fellow senior Sammy Hines tore his ACL at the beginning of the season. Hines won’t be returning this season.
“We are a new team as we only have four returners and we are going up against teams that have played together for two or three years, it’s tough,” Hatcher said.
On Saturday, the Eagles looked for a win to end the weekend in their game against the host Westminister, but fell short losing 94-69.
The Westminister Griffins had the lead the whole first half except for a one-minute period where a layup and free throw made by Holliman gave CSC the lead. Westminister had three threats who each scored double-digit points. Bargen led the Eagles once again, this time with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Anderson was also a key contributor with 14 points.
Even without capturing the win, the Eagles shot better, gaining a 44.2 percent and they were 6-11 from the field and 17-23 from the free-throw line.
“Westminister is just a good team, but we learned our lesson and played the full 40 minutes against them,” Hatcher said.
Chadron heads into the weekend 0-4 and will host Colorado Mesa and Western State Friday and Saturday. Both games are RMAC conference, the first ones of the season, and action starts at 8 p.m.
“We need to play smarter this weekend and control our energy and we will do well,” Hatcher said.