Black Hills’ Whitley stings the Eagles
Despite a strong start by Chadron State College, Black Hills State University’s Trey Whitley, junior of Santa Cruz, California, scored 37 points to help the Yellow Jackets buzz by the Eagles 97-74, Friday, in the Chicoine Center.
Saturday, the Eagles’ strong performance came in the second half against South Dakota School of Mines, but couldn’t overcome late game misses as the Hardrockers won 88-77.
The weekend’s losses drop CSC to 2-13 and increased its losing streak to eight games.
“We’ve got to find a way.” Head Men’s Basketball Coach Houston Reed said. “We’ve played some good basketball for the majority of the games. The game is 40 minutes long, we have to continue to work to get all the minutes put together.”
The Eagles host familiar opponents with 9-6 University of Colorado-Colorado Springs, tomorrow, and 10-5 Colorado School of Mines, Saturday, in the Chicoine Center just two weeks removed from both teams defeating the Eagles.
In the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, Mines ranks first with 101 blocked shots while UCCS ranks second with 96. UCCS’ Padiet Wang, senior of Aurora, Colorado, earned RMAC Offensive Player of the Week last weekend after averaging 25.5 points, six assists and 4.5 rebounds per game in the Mountain Lions’ wins over New Mexico Highlands and CSU-Pueblo.
Against Black Hills, Whitley’s performance ranks as the second best in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference for points scored in a game by an individual.
The Yellow Jackets shot 36 of 62 from the field and 10 of 20 from the arc. CSC couldn’t match Black Hills’ sharp shooting in the first half, shooting just 10 of 27 from the field and trailing 46-28 by halftime.
“BH switched their defensive coverage in the last 10 minutes of the half.” Reed said. “We did a poor job of selecting our shots and had some that just didn’t go in. Unfortunately, our lack of offensive production bled over to our energy on the defensive end.”
The Eagles improved its shooting by 26 percent in the second half. Kayden Sund, sophomore of Golden, Colorado, posted a career-high with 16 points against the Yellow Jackets and Brian Rodriguez-Flores, senior of Phoenix, led CSC with 18 points.
The Eagles trailed by five with 90 seconds remaining, but missed shots matched by Hardrocker free throws nailed the coffin of a CSC comeback victory. South Dakota Mines’ Allec Williams, senior of Albany, Georgia, provided 27 points, five rebounds and three steals against the Eagles. CSC’s Stephon Bell, junior of Phoenix, tallied a season-high 21 points as he shot nine of 11 from the field and three of four from the arc.
“He let his game come to him, he hit some shots we know he’s capable of making. I was more pleased with his competitive level and how locked in he was to his defensive assignment.” Reed said.
CSC’s Colby Jackson, senior of Las Vegas, ranks second in the RMAC as he averages 5.6 assists-per-game while Rodriguez ranks sixth in 3-point shooting percentage, making 41 percent of his shots.