While breaking a 29-29 deadlock, the Chadron State College men’s basketball team went on a 16-2 run in the final five minutes and 20 seconds of the first half to lead 45-31 at intermission enroute to defeating Western Colorado 87-72 in a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference game in Chadron Thursday night.
The win was the sixth in a row for the Eagles, boosting their season record to 14-8 and their conference record to 11-5.
Chadron State led by as many as 28 points with 12 ½ minutes remaining, may have relaxed too much and was ahead by just nine with about three minutes remaining. However, the Eagles closed the game by posting the final six points.
Bryce Latimer, the 5-foot-10 super sub, led the winners with 25 points and also handed out 10 assists. Coach Shane Paben said if the RMAC gives a sixth-man award, Latimer should be the recipient. After making nine of 12 field goal shots and going seven of eight at the free throw line Thursday night, Latimer has scored 97 points while making 37 of 56 (66%) of his shots from the field and going 23 of 25 at the charity stripe in the last four games.
The Eagles also got 19 points from Isaiah Wyatt, who was five-of-nine from 3-point range; 13 points from Jarrett Taylor, who sank four treys for the second game in a row; and 11 points from Josh Robinson, who also was the game’s leading rebounder with 10.
The Mountaineers also had a high scorer. Senior Avery Rembao finished with 27 points, 20 of them in the opening half, including 15 of his team’s first 19 points. For the game, Rembao was 10- of-22 from the field, including three-of-eight from behind the arc and four-of-five at the line. Rembao also tallied 33 points when the Eagles visited Western on Dec. 9 and won by an 81-70 score.
The Mountaineers’ only other double-figure scorer Thursday night was 6-7 Trevin Lieck with 14 points, 12 of them in the second half when he was four-of-six from behind the arc.
For the game, the Eagles shot 30-of-66 from the field, including 11-of-31 from 3-point range against the Mountaineers’ 2-3 zone. Western was 24 of 59 (40.7%) on its field goal tries and eight-of-25 from long range. Both teams made 16 free throws. Chadron State out-rebounded the visitors 42-32.
The Eagles will play their next four games on the road, beginning the weekend of Feb. 9-10 during a trip to New Mexico Highlands and Colorado State-Pueblo.
Western Colorado—Avery Rembao 27, Trevin Lieck 14, Robel Desta 9, Kade Juelfs 7, Kevin Jimenez 5, Jon McCloud 5, Deric Conkright 5. Totals: 24-59 (8-25) 16-21 72 points, 32 rebounds, 10 turnovers.
Chadron State—Bryce Latimer 25, Isaiah Wyatt 19, Jarrett Taylor 13, Josh Robinson 11, Marcus Jefferson 8, MJ Foust 5, Porter Anderson 4, Gage Delimont 2. Totals: 30-66 (11-31) 16-20 87 points, 42 rebounds, 7 turnovers.
Western Colorado 31 41 —72
Chadron State 45 42 —87
3-pointers: WCU—Lieck 4, Rembao 3, Conkright 1. CSC—Wyatt 5, Taylor 4, Jefferson 2