A hotly-contested Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference game with 16 lead changes and eight ties turned out the wrong way for the Chadron State College men’s basketball team Wednesday night in the Denver suburb of Lakewood.
With barely under a minute left in overtime, Colorado Christian’s Noah Kon forced a turnover and converted it into a layup for what proved to be the winning basket in the 80-79 verdict.
To complicate matters, the Eagles threw the ball out of bounds early in their ensuing possession. That allowed the Cougars to play keep-a-way and nearly run down the shot clock before they were forced to shoot. The shot missed, the Eagles got the rebound, raced toward their basket, but weren’t able to connect with what would have been their game-winner.
Chadron State led 34-28 at halftime after one of last week’s RMAC Players of the Week, Josh Robinson, stole the ball and made a resounding dunk at the buzzer.
The Eagles were up by eight twice early in the second half, but neither team led by more than three in the final five minutes.
After CSC center Porter Anderson put the Eagles ahead 73-72 on a put-back with 34 seconds left in regulation, the Cougars’ Isaiah Alonzo tied the count by making the first of two free throws with 16 seconds remaining. He missed the second attempt, the Eagles got the rebound but couldn’t make what would have been the winning shot prior to overtime.
Colorado Christian shot 52.5% (32-61) from the field and the Eagles 43% (27-63), but CSC outscored the hosts 19-10 from the free throw line. Both teams made six 3-pointers.
The Cougars were led by super senior DJ McDonald with 25 points that included four treys. Both Kon and Jason Gallant added 17 points. Isaiah Wyatt paced the Eagles with 17 points, Bryce Latimer scored 15, Robinson 11 and MJ Foust 10.
Robinson grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds, giving him three consecutive games with double-doubles.
Both teams are now 5-4 and will play their next game against the Western Colorado Mountaineers in Gunnison. Chadron will be there Friday night and Colorado Christian on Saturday night.
Chadron State—Isaiah Wyatt 17, Bryce Latimer 15, Josh Robinson 11, MJ Foust 10, Marcus Jefferson 9. Porter Anderson 9, Pat McLachlan 5, Jarrett Taylor 3. Totals: 27-63 (6-16) 19-26 79 points, 39 rebounds, 12 turnovers.
Colorado Christian—DJ McDonald 25, Jason Gallant 17, Noah Kon 17, Isaiah Alonzo 9, Maro Egedotaye 7, Christian Bento 3, Tanner Hecht 2. Totals: 32-61 (6-13) 10-15 80 points, 33 rebounds, 11 turnovers.
Chadron State 34 39 6 —79
Colorado Christian 28 45 7 —80
3-pointers: CSC—Wyatt 2, Jefferson 1, Taylor 1, Latimer 1, McLachlan 1. CCU—McDonald 4, Gallant 1, Kon 1.