The Chadron State College basketball teams will open their Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference schedules Friday night by hosting Colorado Mines. The women’s game beginning at 5:30 will tip off the double-header.
The first 100 fans into Chicoine Center during this season, for doubleheaders all beginning at 5:30 p.m., will be entered into a drawing for CSC merchandise.
The Chadron State women’s team is 2-3 and the men are 2-4. Both have shown promise, but are still searching for consistency, something nearly all inexperienced teams encounter. Both the men and women rely on four freshmen and three sophomores. On the plus side, both Chadron State quintets have several newcomers who have played well against tough opponents and both seem to have adequate depth.
The Colorado Mines men return three starters from last year’s team that was 30-5 overall and 19-3 in RMAC play. They won both the RMAC and the South Central Regional Tournament championships.
This year’s Orediggers are 6-0 after winning twice in overtime. Their victories include a 109-101 verdict over Fort Hays State in two extra sessions and an 86-84 decision over Nebraska’s Concordia Bulldogs in one overtime. The Orediggers also defeated Nebraska-Kearney 86-79. All three of those games were played in Golden.
Four Orediggers are averaging in double figures, led by 6-foot-3 junior Ben Sonnefeld at 16 points a game. Seniors Luke Schroepfer, who is 6-2, and Ben Clare, 6-8, are averaging 13.8 and 13.5 points.
The Colorado Mines women finished 15-17 overall and 10-12 in the conference a year ago. They are 3-3 so far this season with wins over teams from Texas, Washington and Oklahoma and losses to teams from Arkansas, South Dakota and Kansas. Their leader is 5-10 junior Nicole Archambeau, who is averaging 13.8 points and 11.7 rebounds.
The Colorado Christian teams were to visit the Eagles on Saturday night, but because of a scheduling conflict involving Denver-area teams, those games have been moved to Monday night.
The Cougars’ men are 1-4, but feature the RMAC’s second leading in 6-4 junior Stefan Hackethal at 21.4 points a game. The women’s team began this week at 1-3. Its top gun is 5-10 senior Alex Nelson, who is averaging 17 points and is the reigning RMAC Offensive Player of the Week.