Men lose 7th consecutive game

“We had some good moments in the games this weekend where we were making great plays,” Cody Martinz, senior of Custer, South Dakota, said. “We made small mistakes as a team that just added up, causing us to come up short.”
It was a tale of two halves for the Chadron State men’s basketball Friday night, falling to the T’Wolves 85-55. Despite being outshot by 25 percent in the first half, the Eagles managed to make it to the free-throw line 12 times and shot 57 percent from long range. Despite Braydon Kuiper, senior of Wasilla, Alaska, hitting a layup at the buzzer for the T’Wolves, the Eagles entered the half only down by six.
Even with the team’s field goal percentage declining by 12 percent from the first half, CSU-P outscored the Eagles by 24 in the second half. As a team, Pueblo dominated the paint. They acquired 18 more rebounds than the Eagles and scored 50 points in the paint compared to the Eagles’ 18.
Darius Polley, junior of Amarillo, Texas, led the Eagles in scoring with 15, making nine free throws. In his return from a short absence, Michael Johnson, freshman of Nassau, Bahamas, scored 10 points on 3-3 shooting.
While coming off the bench and only playing 22 minutes, Mark Williams, junior of Chino Hills, California, earned a game-high 21 points for the CSU-P. Rico Spikes, senior of Merriville, Indiana, accounted for 15 points, while Kuiper scored 12 and Will Newman, junior of Hawthorne, California, 11.
Saturday night, despite having their highest scoring total of season, the Cowboys upended the Eagles.
Despite acquiring two technical fouls, committing nine more fouls and shooting 20 less free throws, the Eagles managed to make a game out of it. The first half ended with a three-minute scoring drought for both teams, so the Cowboys went into the halftime with a five-point lead.
Both teams managed to score 49 points in the second half, but foul trouble hurt the Eagles.
Four players scored in double digits for the Eagles, led by Vonsinh Sayaloune, redshirt freshman of Chadron, with 15 points. Johnson followed with 13, Austin Hall, junior of Aurora, Colorado, with 12, and Polley with 11.
Two players exploded offensively for the Cowboys. Kieran Woods, senior of Chicago, Illinois, led with game-high 25 points. Ron Lawton, senior of Chicago, Illinois, wasn’t too far behind with 21 points, making 14 free-throws, while Marlon Johnson, senior of Joilet, Illinois, scored 12.
The Eagles return home this weekend with games against the Mountain Lions of Colorado Christian University, Lakewood, Friday night and the Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Hardrockers Saturday night.
“We have two home games this weekend and hopefully bounce back and get on a winning track,” Martinz said.