Despite not shooting well, the Chadron State College men’s basketball team “stayed with” the nationally No. 5 ranked Colorado Mesa Mavericks until about midway in the second half Tuesday night in the opening round of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference playoffs in Grand Junction.

Mesa led by just 26-23 at halftime and was ahead by only 40-35 with 13 minutes remaining before going on a 10-point run in the next four minutes to get some breathing room from the hustling Eagles. The final score was 67-52.

The Mavericks, now 19-1, shot 60 percent from the field, hitting 25 of 42 shots, besides making all 13 of their free throws. They also had a 38-26 rebounding margin.

Chadron State hit just 30 percent of its field goal attempts, going 19 of 65, but nine of them were 3-pointers. The Eagles’ spunky defense also forced 20 turnovers, a dozen more that the Eagles committed, to help them get 23 more shots from the field than the Mavericks.

Fifteen of the Eagles’ rebounds were offensive and they tallied 13 second chance points.

“We competed our tails off, but just didn’t make enough shots,” Chadron State Coach Shane Paben said. “Our effort and defense kept us in the game for a long time, but we didn’t get enough offense to keep up all the way.”

Mesa was led by 6-foot-7 sophomore Ethan Menzies, who scored just two points in the first half, but scored his team’s first 11 points in the second half and finished with game-high 19 to go with 13 rebounds. Freshman guards Blaise Threatt and Chris Speller added 13 and nine points, respectively, while combining to make seven of eight field goal shots and all seven of their free throws.

Chadron State’s high scorer was junior Deundra Roberson with 11 points, while Brady Delimont and Marcus Jefferson each contributed eight. Both Bryant Jefferson and KJ Harris came up with three steals and Psalm Maduakor was CSC’s top rebounder with five.

The playoff appearance was the Eagles’ first since 2012. During the postgame interview, Parham said his team, now 5-8, made some big strides this season and believes the Eagles have a bright future. The team received a big blow at midseason when leading scorer and rebounder Jacob Jefferson was sidelined by a leg injury.
Mesa will host the remainder of the postseason tournament, beginning Friday night by facing Adams State, a 78-66 winner over Metro State in their first-round matchup in Denver Tuesday night.

The other semifinal games will pit Colorado Mines, which received a first-round bye when South Dakota Mines couldn’t play Tuesday night because of COVID issues, and Black Hills State, a 75-67 winner over Fort Lewis in their opening-round clash.

Chadron State– Deundra Roberson 11, Brady Delimont 8, Marcus Jefferson 8, Teddy Parham 6, Psalm Maduakor 6, Kayden Sund 4, KJ Harris 4, Devin Buderus 3, Bryant Jefferson 2. Totals: 19-65, (9-27) 5-7 52 points, 26 rebounds, 8 turnovers.

Colorado Mesa– Ethan Menjies 19, Blaise Threatt 13, Chris Speller 9, Reece Johnson 7, Jared Small 6, Georgie Dancer 6, Trevor Baskin 4, David Rico 3. Totals: 25-42 (4-12) 13-13 67 points, 38 rebounds, 20 turnovers.

Chadron State 23 29 —52
Colorado Mesa 26 41 —67

3-pointers: CSC–Delimont 2, Maduakor 2, Parham 2, M. Jefferson 1, Roberson 1, Buderus 1. CMU–Speller 1, Johnson 1, Small 1, Rico 1.

Jernigan Selected For NCAA Indoor Championships

Chadron State College sophomore Naishaun Jernigan was among the nearly 200 student-athletes selected to participate in the 2021 NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field Championships, in Birmingham, Alabama, next week, in a release at NCAA.org on Tuesday.

Jernigan qualified for the field in the long jump, after he posted a career best mark of 7.39 meters (24-3) at the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Championships last weekend. He used his fifth attempt, which was his final successful leap, to earn the No. 7 spot in the finals, which are set for March 11-13.

Jernigan and teammate Derrick Nwagwu were tied at No. 13 in the triple jump, at 14.73 meters (48-4), however, the selections were limited this season due to budget constraints, and the committee only accepted 10 participants in that event.

This is Jernigan’s second consecutive trip to nationals, after last year’s events which were canceled one day before they were set to take place. He was named All-America by the USTFCCCA coaches’ association, following the trip home.

The long jump is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT, on Friday, March 12.

Softball Adds Makeup Games On Monday

Chadron State College Head Softball Coach Kaley Ness announced on Tuesday the makeup date for the doubleheader canceled last Saturday in Chadron due to inclement weather. The Eagles will take on the University of Colorado Colorado Springs Mountain Lions on Monday, March 8, at 11 a.m., at the UCCS home field.

CSC won games one and two of the series, and Saturday’s games three and four were postponed after the teams met on the field in Chadron, but before the first pitch could be thrown.

The Eagles are scheduled to play doubleheaders at Colorado State University Pueblo on March 6-7, and will stop in Colorado Springs on the way back, following the series against the ThunderWolves.

The makeup games at UCSS will be played without spectators, however CSU-Pueblo will allow a maximum of 250 people to attend its softball games.

UCCS enters the weekend with a 1-5 overall record and is 0-2 in league games. Chadron State is 2-4 (2-0 RMAC).