CSC Men’s Season Ends With RMAC Tourney Loss At #1 Seed Colorado Mesa

By John Murphy CSC SID BOX SCORE

 The Chadron State College men’s basketball team’s season came to an end Tuesday night in the first round of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference tournament

The Eagles fell 84-74 at Colorado Mesa, the RMAC regular season champion, tournament #1 seed, and the #5 ranked team in the nation.   

The loss ends CSC’s season at 12-17 overall and 9-13 in RMAC play. The Mavericks improve to 26-3 overall. They will host #4 Black Hills State in the RMAC Semifinals on Friday. Black Hills edged Metro State 75-72 Tuesday.
 
Chadron State started 3-4 from the field to build a 9-2 lead four minutes into the game. The Eagles were able to stretch their lead to 10 points with 9:36 remaining in the half.
 
With CSC leading 23-14, the Mavericks defense answered the threat by the visitors and manufactured a 12-0 scoring run in the hosts favor, giving the Mavericks a 26-23 lead.  
 
Both teams traded baskets before Christopher Speller hit a jumper with two seconds remaining, putting the Mavericks up 37-32 at half.
 
Chadron State opened the second half by making only one of seven attempts from the field. On the other side, Colorado Mesa began the second half with five consecutive points to build a ten-point lead that stretched to 13 points with 14:31 remaining.
 
That’s when Jalen Patterson, a junior guard from Galt, California, scored eight consecutive points to make the score 49-44. After an “and-1” layup, Patterson scored a jumper on CSC’s next possession before knocking down a three with 12 minutes remaining.
 
Colorado Mesa quickly regained a double-digit lead but CSC slowly chipped it back down to four points with 7:31 remaining. The Eagles found themselves trailing 63-59 after making three consecutive shots and five of their last seven.
 
The Mavericks lead stood at 68-63 with 5:45 remaining when the hosts offense caught fire. With 4:03 remaining in the game, Colorado Mesa led 78-63.
 
Chadron State was able to chip the Mavericks lead back down to nine but were unable to overcome the late scoring run by the hosts.
 
The hosts finished 33-58 (56.9 percent) from the field. They made 10 of their 25 attempts from three (40 percent) and were 8-13 from the charity stripe (61.5 percent).
 
CSC finished 29 of 66 (43.9 percent) from the field and 14-19 (73.7 percent) from the charity stripe. The Eagle’s finished 2-12 (16.7 percent) from three point land, their second lowest percentage this season.
 
Colorado Mesa outrebounded CSC 40 to 29.
 
Chadron State had nine turnovers in the loss, resulting in five Maverick points. The Eagles scored 15 points off 17 Mesa turnovers.
 
Josh Robinson led CSC in scoring with 30 points and had a game high 10 rebounds. The senior made 13 of his 23 attempts from the field and was 4-8 from the charity stripe.
 
Patterson and Bryce Latimer joined Robinson in double-figures with 14 and 11 points, respectively.  
 
Trevor Baskin and Owen Koonce both scored 22 points for the Mavericks. Baskin added 10 rebounds while Spiller had 14 points.
 
Chadron State has now ended its season with a loss in the first round of the RMAC Tournament in three of the last four seasons.