CHADRON, Neb. - In a battle of one of the top perimeter shooting teams and one of the top perimeter defending teams in the country, Chadron State held Black Hills State to just 31.3 percent from beyond the arc in the contest in a 90-77 loss to the Eagles on Thursday night in the Chicoine Center. In the process of holding the Yellow Jackets' 3-point shooting in check, CSC came out of the halftime break shooting lights out as they shot 61.5 percent from the field and 53.9 percent from deep in the half to out-score BHSU 51-36 in the frame.
QUICK DETAILS
Score: Black Hills State 77, Chadron State 90
Team Records: Black Hills State 10-9 (6-5 RMAC), Chadron State 10-10 (6-6 RMAC)
Attendance: 539
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Cam Lowe opened the scoring in the contest with a mid-range jumper just 18 seconds into the game from the right side of the court, however Chadron State posted a quick response as Zy Wright connected on a right-wing 3-pointer to give CSC a 3-2 lead with 19:15 to play.
- The back-and-forth action continued as Tristan Hurdle entered off the bench and knocked down a pair of baskets from deep, giving the Yellow Jackets a 12-8 edge with 14:38 left on the first half clock. Out of the under-16 media timeout Hurdle hit from beyond the arc for a third time in the early minutes as Jaeton Hackley found him at the top of the key to give the Yellow Jackets a 17-11 lead with 13:15 remaining in the opening half. Answering a Trey Ballard jumper, Hackley gave the Green & Gold a boost entering the next media timeout, connecting on a fadeaway jumper in the paint and drawing a foul. He converted the and-one following the break to make it a 20-13 contest.
- After the Eagles drew back within three points at 20-17 with 9:22 remaining, it was the posts that picked things back up for Black Hills State. Starting with a dunk by John Shanklin as BJ Woodruff found him open under the rim, and then Jack Haggett converted the and-one with a tough take to the basket from the right-wing, pushing the lead to eight points (25-17) with 8:18 left in the first half.
- After the Yellow Jackets held a 29-21 lead, Chadron State stormed back once again as Jaylen Davis connected on a pair of 3-pointers during an 8-2 run to trim the BHSU lead to just two (31-29) with 3:34 to play in the opening half. Halting the Eagles run, however, was Woodruff who also found the bottom of the basket from beyond the arc in the left-corner. The Yellow Jackets maintained two point edge at the break after Jalen Thomas hit a jumper in the paint for CSC to make it a 41-39 game.
- With five straight points to begin the second half, Chadron State took their first lead since it was 6-4 with 16:41 left in the first half, as Darrius Miles connected on a left-wing 3-pointer to make it a 44-41 game in favor of the home team with 18:51 left on the clock. Off assists from Hackley, a layup by Caelin Hearne and a top of the key 3-pointer by Haggett, BHSU momentarily evened the game at 46 apiece, but a quick 6-0 run by the Eagles forced a Yellow Jacket timeout as CSC took a 52-46 lead nearly three minutes into the second half.
- The Eagles continued to be hot from the field making 11 of their first 16 and six of nine from beyond the arc to begin the second half as they built a nine point advantage (68-59) with 10:47 to play as Zach Smith connected on a 3-pointer from the left-wing.
- Entering the under-8 media timeout with 7:32 remaining in the game the CSC lead had grown to ten points (73-63), the first double digit lead by either team. Out of the timeout Chadron State scored another seven unanswered as Ballard knocked down a left-corner jumper just inside the arc and a mid-range jumper on the left side of the court to make it a 16 point game at 79-63 with 6:34 to play.
- The Eagle scoring run got up to as many as 13-0 and an 18 point advantage following a fadeaway jumper in the paint by Davis. Eventually ending the rally was a straightaway 3-pointer from the top of the key by Hearne off a kick-out pass by Hearne, cutting the deficit to 81-66 as 5:05 remained on the clock. BHSU continued to chip away as the clock ticked down as a right-wing 3-pointer by Woodruff and a right-handed layup by Joel Speckman made it a 7-0 rally to cut the deficit to just ten points (83-73) with 1:57 to play.
- After two sets of two free throws, a pair of layups by Hackley cut the deficit to ten points on two more occasions, the Green & Gold were never able to get within single digits in the closing minutes as Chadron State went 7-of-8 from the charity stripe in the final two minutes.
BLACK HILLS STATE STATISTICAL LEADERS
BJ Woodruff: 15 points, 3 3-pointers, 3 rebounds, 2 assists
Caelin Hearne: 13 points, 2 3-pointers, 3 rebounds, 1 assist
Jaeton Hackley: 13 points, 6 assists, 3 rebounds
Joel Speckman: 10 points, 5-of-7 field goals, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 blocks
UP NEXT
Black Hills State returns home to A2 Arena on Saturday, February 1, as the Yellow Jackets close out rivalry week action with a 7 p.m. match-up with South Dakota Mines.
