By Con Marshall BOX SCORE
– It was bitterly cold outside with a wind chill of minus 20 degrees. But inside the Chicoine Center at Chadron State College there was a red-hot basketball game Friday night.Â
It didn’t end the way Eagles’ fans had hoped, but it seemed to suggest that their favorites can play with the best.
Sparked by buzzer-beating 3-pointers at the end of both the first half and regulation, the Eagles sent the game into overtime, but finally succumbed to Colorado Mesa by a 102-95 score.Â
The Mavericks came into the shootout ranked No. 11 in NCAA Division II with an 11-2 record and a 7-0 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference mark.Â
There’re a tall and talented team, but the Eagles have clout, too, as this game proved.  Â
“We had some opportunities (to win),” Coach Shane Paben said, but he agreed that for at least the last 30 minutes, his team had played extra well.
It was the first 10 minutes that were costly. The Eagles might have won it they’d gotten off to a better start.
Mesa jumped out to a game-high 16-point lead–29-13–while sinking one of its 11 3-pointers with 10:16 left in the opening half. Chadron State had made just five of its first 15 shots from the field.
Eventually, the Eagles started getting better shots and the ball began to drop. In the ensuing 10 minutes, the hosts hit 11 of their 18 shots from the field and trailed by just 45-42 at halftime.
Two treys in the final seven seconds of the half helped close the gap. Dalton Peterson hit the first and, following a Mesa turnover, Josh Robinson made the second from the right corner as the buzzer was blaring.Â
The buzzer-beater was a surprise to even the loyalist Chadron State fans. Robinson earned first-team All-RMAC honors last year, when he shot 59.2% from the field and averaged 14 points, but he was just one of four on 3-pointers a year ago. So far this year, he was 0-of-2 from behind the arc, but his third shot of the season from afar was nothing but net.
Another of the Eagles’ veterans both began and ended the second half with 3-pointers.
Jarrett Taylor opened the half by nailing a trey that tied the score at 48-all. Some 19 minutes and 35 seconds later, the Eagles’ John Jenkins was desperately looking for an open teammate, found Taylor at the top of the key, fired the ball and him and the senior guard instantly launched the shot that tied the count at 85 and sent the barn-burner into overtime.
Taylor’s shot was so close to the buzzer’s blare that the officials studied the video several minutes before declaring that it had indeed left Taylor’s hand before the horn sounded.
Mesa opened the extra session with a free throw, before Jenkins made a layup to put Chadron State ahead- 87-86. That turned out to be the Eagles’ only overtime lead. The margin was just three points with a minute left, but the Mavericks were 12 of 16 at the free throw line and CSC just four of six there in OT to determine the outcome.
Chadron State’s sensational 5-10 senior guard Bryce Latimer was the game’s leading scorer with 30 points on nine of 15 shooting from the field and by going 12-14 at the line. He also handed out 10 assists. Jenkins was 10-18 from the field while pouring in 25 points, Robinson scored 17 points and grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds. Taylor finished with 11 points for the Eagles.
Five Mavericks scored in double digits. Guard Owen Koonce led with 22 points, followed by Mac Riniker with 19 to go with 11 rebounds. Trevor Baskin added 16 points and Elijah Knudsen and Chris Speller had 12 and 11, respectively.
Each team meshed 34 field goals, but Mesa sank 11 treys, three more than the Eagles, and finished 23-33 at the charity stripe while the Eagles were 19-25.
Chadron State is now 8-6 overall and 5-3 in the RMAC. It will host the Westminster Griffons on Saturday night, following the women’s game that will begin at 5:30. Â
Colorado Mesa—Owen Koonce 22, Mic Riniker 19, Trevor Baskin 16, Elijah Knutsen 12, Chris Speller 11, Christian Speller 7, Aidan Kuhl 6, Isaac Jessup 5, Reece Johnson 2, Ty Allred 2. Totals: 34-64 (11-28) 23-33 103 points, 46 rebounds, 15 turnovers, 16 assists.
Chadron State—Bryce Latimer 30, John Jenkins 25, Josh Robinson 17, Jarrett Taylor 11, Dalton Peterson 5, Jalen Patterson 3, Malakai Harris 2, Julio Phipps 2. Totals: 34-74 (8-24) 19-25 95 points 34 rebounds, 8 turnovers, 19 assists.
Colorado Mesa 45 42 17 —102
Chadron State 42 43 10 —-95
3-pointers: CMU—Knudson 3, Koonce 2, Baskin 1, Jessup 1, Riniker, 1, Kuhl 1, Knudsen 1, Christian Speller 1, CSC—Taylor 3, Jenkins 2, Robinson 1, Patterson 1, Peterson 1.