The Eagles men finished the night shooting just 34.9 percent from the floor and 18.8 percent from three. Both marks were the lowest of the 2018-19 season for Chadron State College. On the other hand, Black Hills State University fired off its best shooting performance of the season so far in a win, draining 54.9 percent of its shots to emerge with an 82-62 victory on its home court Friday evening.
“Black Hills played very well tonight,” said CSC Head Men’s Basketball Coach Houston Reed. “We have to do some of the little things better, and ultimately, we have to put the ball in the hole.”
BHSU never trailed in the game. The Yellow Jackets jumped out to a 16-4 lead when the Eagles opened 1-for-9 from the field and Black Hills was 6-for-8 including 3-for-4 from three.
The home team’s lead extended to 17 nearing the end of the half, when the Yellow Jackets’ Dez Stoudamire hit one of a pair of free throws to make it 32-15.
Despite the early success by their opponents, the Eagles sliced back at their deficit, making it a 36-30 game at halftime. Diontae Champion had six points and Brady Delimont five in a 15-4 run going into the break. CSC buried all seven of its shots from the free throw line in that spurt, while BHSU had no attempts.
In the second half, Black Hills shot nearly 60 percent from the floor, while CSC was still under 40 percent, as the host cruised to the 20-point win.
Remarkably, Chadron State was perfect from the foul line, although the Eagles were only able to take 15 shots in 40 minutes of play.
CSC fell to 10-8 overall, and 8-6 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play, while Black Hills went one game up on the Eagles at 9-5 in the league and 10-8 overall.
Stoudamire emerged the hero for BHSU, finishing as the team’s leading scorer by far with 26 points.
Champion led the Eagles with 7-of-12 shooting for 17 points. Jeremy Ruffin’s nine rebounds were a team high as well, and he was credited with a game-high four steals.
Chadron State appears at South Dakota School of Mines & Technology in Rapid City on Saturday. The Hardrockers won at home 70-67 over CSC travel partner MSU Denver on Friday to improve to 9-13 (6-8 RMAC).