Announcements

CSC Men Take On Colorado Mines Tonight In RMAC Tournament

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After winning the final two games of the regular season last week, the Chadron State College men’s basketball team advanced to the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament tonight.

The Eagles take on Colorado School of Mines in Golden with tipoff at 7:30.
               
Last week, the Eagles stopped South Dakota Mines 85-76, then edged nationally ranked Black Hills State 88-86. 
               
CSC Coach Shane Paben said the Eagles had beaten an outstanding team in Black Hills State and commended his players for working hard and improving immensely..
               
The two wins gave the Eagles 10 victories in their last 11 games, a 19-9 season record and a 16-6 conference mark, good for fifth place.  It’s the best record for a CSC men’s team since 1999-2000. The Eagles had lost four straight games in early January before catching fire.
               
Tonight’s game will be the Eagles’ second against Colorado Mines in Golden in 10 days.  The Orediggers won the Feb. 18 contest 78-74.  It was their 27th consecutive win over Chadron State. Mines enters the playoffs with an overall 24-4 record and an 18-4 RMAC log. 
               
Robinson led CSC with 31 points while going 13-of-17 on field goal shots, but as a team the Eagles shot only 43.8%, their lowest since mid-January. The fact that Mines blocked 10 shots was major factor for the dip.
               
The Eagles also were just 13-21 at the free throw line while the Orediggers were a perfect 12-12.
               
Free throws have been a big ally of the Eagles, who have excellent quickness and play aggressively. They enter the playoffs with more free throws made than the opponents have shot. CSC is 380 of 522 at the line and the foes are 292-385.
               
Tonight’s other first-round RMAC Tournament pairings have Metro State at Colorado Mesa, Westminster at Black Hills State and Regis at Fort Lewis. 

After Colorado Mines thumped Fort Lewis 75-64 in Durango on Saturday night, Mesa will host for the remainder of the tournament this weekend if the Mavericks can hold off Metro tomorrow evening.

The RMAC Tournament champion earns an automatic berth into the NCAA Division II playoffs.