Eagles Win Season Finale In 89-87 Home Thriller

Photo – Carter Hattery/CSC Sports Information

By Con Marshall Chadron Record BOX SCORE

The Chadron State College men’s basketball season didn’t turn out as well as was hoped, but the Eagles ended it at home with a pulsating 89-87 win over the pesky Colorado Christian Cougars on Saturday night.  

The game was tight all the way and featured plenty of impressive shooting by both teams. There were 11 ties and 14 lead changes, and neither ever led by more than seven points.

The Eagles were 26-of-55 from the field, including a season-high of 14-of-28 on 3-pointers, to go with 23-of-29 from the free throw line. The Cougars sank 31-of-60 field goal shots while going 13-of-25 from behind the arc, and 12-of-16 at the charity stripe.

The Eagles didn’t take the lead for keeps until the final 2:45 when CJ Jennings’s jump shot while he was on the fly swirled around the rim and finally dropped through the nets to make the score 84-83.

After Chadron State got a stop, Mason Hiemstra made a determined, driving, “hop and stop” layup to put the Eagles up by three with 1:45 remaining. 

After Christian’s 6-10 center Isaiah Alonzo sank two free throws with 1:16 left, each team missed a shot on its next possession.  The Eagles’ Teddy Parham grabbed the rebound following the Cougars’ miss, and while tangled up with a Cougar, shuffled the ball off to teammate Marcus Jefferson with 17.2 seconds remaining.

Jefferson was immediately fouled and made both free shots to give CSC an 88-85 lead. The Cougars’ hot-shooting Ross Williams, who finished with 37 points, had a rare miss on a three-pointer, but Alonzo grabbed the rebound and scored with 3.6 seconds still showing.

As soon as the Eagles got the ball inbounds, Jennings was fouled again. He made the first shot, but he missed the second. Alonzo got the rebound and hurled the ball the length of the court, but it didn’t connect.

Jennings, the only senior on the active roster, paced the Eagles with 27 points, 19 of them in the first half, when he was 5-of-9 from 3-point range.  Parham added a season-high 20 points that included 4-of-5 from behind the arc, Jefferson finished with 16 points, half of them free throws, and Hiemstra scored 15.

Williams, a 5-10 senior from Detroit, got his 37 points on 13-of-21 from the field, including 7-of-10 from long range and 4-4 on free throws.  Alonzo finished with 21 points and 16 rebounds, while another small guard, DJ McDonald, added 14 points and was credited with eight assists.

The Eagles finish with a 10-17 overall record and a 6-13 RMAC log.  Colorado Christian, which forced regular-season conference champion Black Hills State into overtime Friday night, ends at 8-20 and 5-17. 

                Colorado Christian—Ross Williams 37, Isaiah Alonzo 21, DJ McDonald 14, Darlus Henderson 6, Nic Zeil 4, Christian St. Germain 3, Christian Bento 2. Totals: 31-60 (13-25) 12-16 87 points, 33 rebounds, 20 assists, 8 turnovers.
                Chadron State—CJ Jennings 27, Teddy Parham 20, Marcus Jennings 16, Mason Hiemstra 15, Porter Anderson 6, KJ Harris 3, Taj Toney 2.  Totals: 26-55 (14-28) 23-29 89 points, 29 rebounds, 17 assists, 3 turnovers. 

Colorado Christian             47           40         —-87
                Chadron State                     50           39        —-89

                3-pointers: CCU—Williams 7, McDonald 3, Henderson 2, St. Germain 1. CSC—Jennings 5, Parham 4, Jefferson 2, Hiemstra 2, Harris 1.