CSC’s offense goes cold in weekend losses

Chadron State College produced season-lows in field goal shooting, assists and scoring as the Eagles men’s basketball team fell 81-47 to Colorado School of Mines, Friday, in the Chicoine Center.

Saturday, CSC’s 40-34 halftime lead diminished as the team missed 23 shots in the second half against University of Colorado-Colorado Springs as the Eagles lost 75-62.

The weekend’s losses drop the Eagles to 2-15, placing CSC at the bottom of the standing of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.

“It’s the same thing we’ve been fighting all year long.” Head Men’s Basketball Coach Houston Reed said. “We want to be able to put 40 minutes of play together. We haven’t been consistent in doing that. I thought against UCCS on Saturday was an example, we played well and played tough, but we weren’t able to finish 40 minutes of play.”

The Eagles travel to Rapid City, South Dakota, Friday, playing 10-7 South Dakota School of Mines Hardrockers, and Spearfish, South Dakota, Saturday, playing 14-3 Black Hills State University Yellow Jackets.

The Yellow Jackets average 51 percent from the field this season which ranks them second-best in the RMAC. Black Hills is led by freshman Joel Scott, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, who averages 17.7 points-per-game and Tyler Oliver, senior of Jackson, Michigan, who ranks second in the RMAC with 175 total rebounds.

South Dakota Mines allow 69 points-per-game, ranking its defense third in that category of the RMAC.

“We’re going to have to win the toughness categories with both of those teams. They are bigger and more physical than we are, so we are going to have to match that physicalness with toughness in rebounding and taking care of the basketball and defending them in a specific way. We are going to have be a lot tougher than we were the first time, particularly against Black Hills” Reed said.

Against Colorado Mines, senior Brian Rodriguez-Flores, of Phoenix, led CSC with 12 points in the first half. Rodriguez didn’t play in the second half after receiving his fourth foul, a technical with 22 seconds remaining. The Eagles scored just 18 points in the second half, shooting six of 29 from the field and 22 percent from the arc. The Orediggers saw four players cross double digits in scoring and outrebounded CSC 40-29.

The Eagles shot 14 of 26 from the field in the first half against UCCS. The Mountain Lions scored 10 points off 12 Eagle turnovers and improved its field goal percentage in the second half by 12 percent. Andre Sepeda, freshman of Greeley, Colorado, led the Eagles with a season-high 16 points.

“My confidence level I feel has been going up after every game,” Sepeda said, “Just getting more experience under my belt is going to be a huge help going into next year and I plan to have even more confidence next year and I always want to play with a chip on my shoulder.”

CSC’s Walker Andrew, junior of Littleton, Colorado, missed the Eagles’ last four games and is out for the season with a shoulder injury.