Men’s basketball winless during season-opening Texas trip

The Eagles’ men’s basketball team dropped its first games of the season in Texas over the weekend. CSC lost 65-75 to Texas A&M International Friday and lost 66-67 to Texas A&M Kingsville Saturday.

In both losses, Chadron saw a quality performance by transfer Brian Rodriguez, senior of Phoenix, as he shot 15-21 from the field, 7-11 from the three point line and made nine of 14 free throws for 46 points over the weekend.

Against International, CSC shot 38 percent from the field and 27 percent beyond the arc while the Dust Devils shot 41 percent from the field and 37 percent from the three-point line. CSC out-rebounded its opponent 37 to 30.

Junior Stephon Bell, of Phoenix, led the Eagles with nine rebounds and also scored 10 points.

Against Kingsville, Chadron out-shot the Javelinas by 18 percent from the field and 33 percent from the arc, but came up short in the 66-67 loss. The Eagles turned the ball over 33 times while the Javelinas scored 34 points off turnovers. Rodriguez-Flores shot 10 of 12 from the field and hit five out of six three pointers to lead CSC with 25 points. Junior Stephon Bell, of Phoenix, led CSC with 11 rebounds while senior Colby Jackson, of Las Vegas, led with nine free throws.

“It was a good weekend for us, if we can learn from it,” CSC Head Men’s Basketball Coach Houston Reed said to CSC Sports Information. “We put ourselves in a position to win both games, but ultimately, we beat ourselves. We can get these issues fixed. It was also good for us to look at lineups to learn more about our rotations and first year players.”

The Eagles travel to Aberdeen, South Dakota, to take on Sioux Falls, Friday, Nov.22, and Northern State University, Saturday, Nov.23

CSC played Kearney on Wednesday, but results weren’t available in time to print.