Both Chadron State College basketball teams will return to action this weekend by hosting Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference rivals in Armstrong Gymnasium.

Fort Lewis will visit on Friday and Adams State on Saturday.  Each doubleheader will start at 6 p.m.

Both Chadron State teams have many new pieces and won only one of their 10 games during the 2012 segment of their seasons. But the coaches say the players continue to work hard and are intent on becoming more competitive during the next two months.

The CSC women’s basketball team has benefited as its players have become healthier. Three Eagles, including the only senior, Sadie Waugh, and guards Kate Simonton and Lisa Durden, missed several early-season games or had their playing time limited because of various ailments.

The CSC men seemed to be rounding into form, but suffered a setback when leading scorer Zac Bargen sustained a sprained ankle on Dec. 12 at Regis. The Christmas break has given him considerable recovery time, but his status for this weekend is still not certain.

The CSC men, in particular, will be meeting teams with impressive records. The Fort Lewis men are 6-1, losing only to Adams State 82-76 on Dec. 8, and the Adams State Grizzlies are 7-1.

Fort Lewis opened with two non-conference wins over Northern New Mexico by comfortable margins and an 89-82 victory in overtime over Dixie State of Utah.

Since beginning RMAC play, the Skyhawks have edged Colorado-Colorado Springs 72-69 and CSU-Pueblo 82-80 in overtime and defeated Colorado Mesa 71-61 the next game after falling to Adams State.

Fort Lewis’s top scorer is Nick Tomsick, a 6-foot-1 junior guard who is averaging 17.3 points and has made 21 of 48 3-point shots. Also averaging in double figures are 6-10 sophomore Alex Herrera at 12.7 points and 5-11 senior Marcus Ayala at 12.1. Herrera is also averaging eight rebounds a game.

The Adams State men were 7-0 before losing to Division I Colorado State in Fort Collins 80-55 last Saturday afternoon while shooting just 29 percent from the field and making only six of 16 free throws.   The Rams are now 11-2.

The Grizzlies defeated Iowa Wesleyan and Northern New Mexico before opening their RMAC schedule with five victories, four of them by six or fewer points.

Besides the win over Fort Lewis, coach Lewis Wilson’s team nipped Pueblo in overtime, 77-73, Colorado Springs 67-65 and Mesa 84-79.  The Grizzlies’ lone blowout in conference action was a 101-76 thumping of Western State.

James Lake, a 6-2 senior, is the team’s leading scorer at 16.7 points, followed by Norvell Arnold, a 6-5 senior, at 14.0 and Kaimyn Pruitt, a 6-8 senior, at 12.6. Pruitt is also averaging nearly 14 rebounds a game, tops in the RMAC.

John Jackson, a 6-2 senior, who was averaging 7.2 points, made his first start against Colorado State and led the Grizzlies with 17 points.

The Fort Lewis women are 2-6 for the season and 1-3 in the RMAC. The Skyhawks opened with a 64-53 win over McMurry of Texas, then lost five straight, three of them by eight or fewer points, before downing Adams State 69-55 at home on Dec. 8. The Skyhawks fell to Colorado Mesa, perhaps the best women’s team in the RMAC, 77-62 on Dec. 16, their last game in 2012.

Three Skyhawks are averaging in double figures for coach Jason Flores, led by 5-8 junior Ashley Kuchar at 12.5 points. She’s 20 of 50 from 3-point range. Christie Groh, a 6-1 junior, is averaging 11.5 points and 7.3 rebounds.

The Adams State women are 4-5 and have won just one conference game, a 53-45 decision over Western State.

Besides the loss to Fort Lewis, the Lady Grizzlies have been stopped by Pueblo 67-55, Colorado Springs 69-45 and Mesa 65-51.

Keyondra White, a 5-5 guard, is the averaging 12 points a game to lead Adams State women in scoring.

CSC Sports Information