Lauren Zimmerman-CSC Sports Information
CHADRON, Neb. – The Eagles started their RMAC conference season with a win against South Dakota Mines, creating early momentum on Thursday night to defeat the Hardrockers 84-56 at the Chicoine Center.
Darrius Miles, a junior from Texas, was the game’s leading scorer with 18 points. Miles shot 5 of 9 from the field, including 4 of 6 three-pointers and made all four free throw attempts. Jalen Thomas and Julio Phipps each added 14 points for the Eagles.
The Eagles shot 54 percent from the field as a team and were 50 percent from three-point range and 80 percent for free throws. John Jenkins led the Eagles with nine rebounds, followed by Trey Ballard with eight. CSC outscored the Hardrockers 36-20 in the paint and 17-2 on second chance points.
Three players finished in double digits for South Dakota Mines – Keagen Smith with 13, Mac Terry with 11 and Tre Dowdell with 10. The Hardrockers shot just 35 percent from the field during the game, including 27 percent in the second half.
The Eagles ran the floor at the beginning of the first half, starting it off with a layup from Darrius Miles. After a three-pointer from the Hardrockers, the Eagles started to build the momentum that they would keep for the rest of the game.
A 10-0 scoring run for the Eagles early in the half started their separation from the Hardrockers as a Jalen Thomas three made the score 30-14. The Eagles kept the lead, ending the half with a 45-35 lead. In the first half, the Eagles shot 51.6 percent from the field, including 61.5 percent from beyond the arc.
In the second half, the Eagles kept rolling and scored the first six points of the second half on two Darrius Miles free throws and layups from Jalen Thomas and Zy Wright to make it 51-35. An 8-0 scoring run with a major dunk by Julio Phipps made the score 61-38.
The Eagles continued their scoring and went on another 8-0 run in the final minutes of the game. The final score of 84-56 was the Eagles’ biggest lead of the night at 28 points.
The Eagles improved their shooting percentage for the second half, making 15 of 26 attempts to shoot 57.7 percent from the field. Chadron State outscored the Hardrockers 39-21 after halftime.
Chadron State is now 4-4 overall and 1-0 in the RMAC. The Eagles will face Black Hills State University on Saturday in Spearfish at 3 p.m. Black Hills faced South Dakota Mines on Tuesday and the Hardrockers defeated the Yellowjackets 58-50. Black Hills is 4-5 overall and 0-1 in the RMAC.