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The CSC Eagle Newspaper – Chadron, NE
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The CSC Eagle Newspaper – Chadron, NE
Matt Reader (00), sophomore of Appleton, Wisconsin, jump stops with the ball during the game on Feb. 12 against University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. —Photo by Sara Tweet
BasketballFeaturedSports

Men’s team drops 2 more; hopeful for first road win

Evan Brooks

The Chadron State men’s basketball team traveled to Grand Junction, Colorado, and Salt Lake City for match-ups against Colorado Mesa University, Friday, and Westminster College, Saturday, suffering losses in both meetings. The Eagles fell to Mesa 88-66, and the Griffins 77-62.

Matt Reader (00), sophomore of Appleton, Wisconsin, jump stops with the ball during the game on Feb. 12 against University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. —Photo by Sara Tweet
Matt Reader (00), sophomore of Appleton, Wisconsin, jump stops with the ball during the game on Feb. 12 against University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. —Photo by Sara Tweet

Friday night the Eagles (6-19, 4-17 RMAC) found themselves in a deep hole early, as they started the game giving up a 20-1 run to the Mavericks (19-8, 15-6 RMAC) which they would not be able to recover from.

Although the Eagles held RMAC Player of the Year candidate Ryan Stephan, senior of Lakewood, Colorado, to just over half of his 42-point total in the two teams’ previous match-up, five players for CMU scored in double figures, providing balanced scoring en route to an 88-66 win.

For the Eagles, however, Billy Johnson, junior of Cedar Hill, Texas, led the way with 23 points, matching his season high.  Aside from Johnson’s 9 of 17 shooting effort, the poor shooting continued for the Eagles, as they shot a dismal 28.6 percent from behind the arc and 41 percent from the field overall.

“We were stagnant on the offensive end,” Andre Miller, junior of San Mateo, California, said. “The defense was packing the paint, and our outside shots were not falling. So, it made it difficult.”

Warren Gordon, junior of Indianapolis, seemed to agree whole-heartedly, stating all of the same things Miller did, and adding that it was tough to get things going in the offense.

Saturday night against Westminster, the Eagles looked to split on their road trip but fell short due to a low-scoring first half.

On their senior night, the Griffins went on a 28-9 run in the first half to build a comfortable cushion for the remainder of the game. This would prove to be the difference, as each team scored 41 points in the second half.  Despite a mediocre shooting performance from long range, the Griffins did enough to hold on and earn a 77-62 victory.

Again, Johnson led the way for the Eagles with 17 points, four rebounds, and two assists.

It is no secret that the Eagles have had a less successful season than they would have liked, but the team remains optimistic, with plans to fight for a win until the final buzzer of the last game sounds.

“We’re just trying to finish as hard as we can, man,” Gordon said. “With it being the last game, we might as well give it everything we’ve got and finish on a good note.”

Miller added to Gordon’s statement, saying, “We really want to enjoy it; get one to send the seniors off and start some positive momentum for the offseason.”

The Eagles have seen no victories on the road this year, but have one final opportunity to earn one in the upcoming weekend, as they will travel to Denver to face Regis University for their final game of the season.

“I think (a win) will be a great way to end the season and start the offseason,” Miller said. “Since we haven’t won an away game yet, it’ll give some positive energy to the group.”

Gordon said that a win would simply give the team extra motivation to get better in the offseason.