(Con Marshall)
After trailing by 17 points with just over 12 minutes left in the second half, the Chadron Sate College men’s basketball team reduced the deficit to only two points in the next six minutes, but never completely caught up and fell to Texas A&M International 71-66 in the season opener for both teams in Laredo on Friday night.
The first half was tight until the final 2:46, when the homestanding Dustdevils went on a 10-0 run to take a 37-23 halftime lead. The Eagles missed their final five shots and also had three turnovers during the costly dry spell.
On the other side of the coin, senior Shea Rax led the International rally by hitting two 3-pointers and a pair of free throws for all his eight points during the fateful stretch.
The Texas team eventually led by 17 points with just over 12 minutes remaining before the Eagles went on an 18-3 run that cut the deficit to 55-53 with 5:43 left. Chadron State also had the difference down to only three points with 16 seconds remaining, but the Dustdevils’ Greg Bowie sank three of four free throws to maintain the lead.
All three of Chadron State’s leading scorers are from Texas. Senior point guard Marcus Jefferson, a native of Lewisville, poured in a game-high 19 points that included going four-of-four on 3-point shots. Isaiah Wyatt, who is from Fort Worth, added 14 and Josh Robinson of Paris, Texas, contributed 10 points and had a game-high seven rebounds.
Bowie led the Dustdevils with 13 points. Both Juwan White and Matthew Okoye scored 10.
International shot 48% from the field and the Eagles 45% that included going nine of 22 from behind the arc. The hosts were five of 15 from long range.
The Eagles will play at Texas A&M-Kingsville this (Saturday) afternoon to complete what is called the Conference Challenge, which matches teams from the Rocky Mountain and Lone Star Conferences. The Javalinas defeated South Dakota Mines 75-42 Friday night,
Chadron State 23 43 —66
TA&M International 37 34 —-71
Chadron State—Marcus Jefferson 19, Isaiah Wyatt 14, Josh Robinson 10, Porter Anderson 6, MJ Foust 6, Bryce Latimer 4, Pat McLachian 3, Jarrett Taylor 3, Martin Poznanovic 1. Totals: 22-49 (9-22) 13-19 66 points, 29 rebounds, 17 turnovers.
Texas A&M International—Greg Bowie 13, Juwan White 10, Matt Okoye 10, Jermaine Drewey 9, Shea Rax 8, John Achebe 6, Mike Rivera 6, Tiras Morton 5, Lonzo Rand 3. Totals: 27-65 (5-15) 12-22 71 points, 27 rebounds, 11 turnovers.