Con Marshall
RAPID CITY, S.D. – The Chadron State College men’s basketball team suffered a setback Tuesday night when South Dakota Mines defeated the Eagles 53-47 in a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference game played in Rapid City.
The game against the Hardrockers featured 10 ties and 10 lead changes. Neither team ever led by more than four points until three seconds remaining in the game, when the Hardrockers made two free throws to extend the lead to six with the Eagles intentionally fouling to stop the clock.
Center Darrius Miles led CSC with 15 points while Zy Wright finished with 10 points and had a game-high 11 rebounds for a double-double. None of the other Eagles scored more than five points.
The Eagles are now 9-10 overall and 5-6 in the RMAC with nine conference games still on the schedule. The win was the fourth of the season and the third in six days for South Dakota Mines, who is now 4-15 overall and 4-7 in the RMAC.
Chadron State finished below their season averages on many of their offensive numbers. They shot just 33.3 percent from the field, some 13 percent below their season figure; were only 4-of-18 from 3-point range for 22 percent, compared to 34.8 percent for the season; and made just 9-of-16 free throws for 56.3 percent, after entering the game with a conference-best 77.6 percent mark from the line. Most of all, their 47 total points scored Tuesday are 29 points below their 76 points per game average for the season.
South Dakota Mines freshman Mac Terry, who was the game’s leading scorer with 17 points, turned the tide by hitting two three-pointers in a row to put his team ahead 44-40 with five minutes remaining. Chadron State’s Trey Ballard nailed a three on CSC’s next possession to put the Eagles down by one.
After another minute had elapsed, CSC’s Zy Wright made a free throw, but missed the second shot to keep the score tied. Senior guard Dalton Peterson then gave the Eagles a lift by hitting a shot from behind the arc with 2:05 remaining to put the visitors ahead 47-44.
Unfortunately for the Eagles, that was the last time they scored. None of their final three field goal tries connected and they also missed the front end of a one-and-one free throw opportunity down the stretch.
Meanwhile, Terry drove for a layup at the 1:39 mark and then sank his fifth 3-pointer with 35 seconds left to put the Hardrockers ahead for good at 49-47. Four free throws by the home team iced the game and added to the Hardrockers’ victory margin.
Besides Terry’s 17 points, another Mines freshman, Tre Dowdell, scored 15 and both senior Keagen Smith and sophomore Abel Hutchinson added eight. The Hardrockers were 19-of-52 from the field for 36.5% and made 9-of-27 of their 3-point shots.
Chadron State returns home Thursday night to take on another rival in Black Hills State, with tip-off slated for 7 p.m. in the Chicoine Center.