Lauren Zimmerman-CSC Sports Information
SPEARFISH, S.D. – Chadron State men’s basketball fell on the road to Black Hills State University 89-69 in an RMAC men’s basketball game played Saturday afternoon in South Dakota.
Three Eagles scored in double figures on Saturday. John Jenkins had a total of 19 points and also led the team with nine rebounds while Zach Smith added 16 points and Dalton Peterson totaled 10. Zy Wright, Jalen Thomas, Darrius Miles, Peterson, and Smith were all 100 percent from the free-throw line, part of a 22-for-24 day from the stripe overall for Chadron State.
The Eagles made 26 points from the paint, had 23 of their 69 points came from off the bench and scored 18 of their points off turnovers. The Eagles shot 36.2 percent from the field and 26 percent from beyond the arc for the game. In the first half, the Eagles were 38.7 percent from the field, 33.3 percent from three and 100 percent from the free throw line, making all eight attempts.
Darrius Miles started the scoring for the Eagles in the first half with a jumper, giving them a 2-0 lead. After the Yellow Jackets returned with a 3-pointer, Dalton Peterson gave the Eagles back their lead with two free throws, making the score 4-3.
After that, however, the Yellow Jackets went on a 9-0 run and kept the lead the rest of the half. In the final minutes of the half, CSC had a 5-0 run with two free throws from Miles combined with a three-point play from Zach Smith. At the end of the half, the score was 45-35, Yellow Jackets.
The Eagles mostly relied on their free throw abilities to keep them in the second half by going 14-of-16 from the line. Chadron State had a three-point percentage of 20 percent and a field goal percentage of 33.3 percent in the second half.
In the first two minutes of the second half, Dalton Peterson made a jumper in the paint to lower the deficit to 10 points, making the score 47-37. John Jenkins later gave the Eagles a 4-0 run with two free throws and a layup, putting the score to 54-44.
With 10:20 to play in the half after two made free throws from Smith, the Eagles changed to a full-court pressure defense. This led to multiple turnovers from the Yellow Jackets and the Eagles took advantage, with Jenkins making a quick three and a jumper to decrease the Yellow Jackets lead to 66-51. Ultimately, those turnovers wouldn’t be enough for the Eagles to strike back and the Yellow Jackets finished the game on a 7-0 run to make the final score 89-69.
The Eagles are now 4-5 overall and 1-1 in the RMAC. The team will be back in action on December 12 at 7:30 p.m. in Massari Arena to take on the CSU Pueblo ThunderWolves. The ThunderWolves are 7-1 overall and 2-0 in the RMAC.