CHADRON, Neb. – Colorado School of Mines made great use of the free throw line Thursday night while defeating Chadron State 76-61 in a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference men's basketball game played in Chadron.  

The Orediggers meshed 23 of 24 free shots while the host Eagles, now 6-7 for the season and 2-3 in the RMAC, were just 5-of-8 at the line. Both teams were perfect at the line in the second half. Mines was 15-of-15 and CSC was 2-of-2 while being fouled just three times. The Eagles outscored their guests 56-53 in points from the field by making 25 total field goals, two more than the visitors, and hitting six threes, one fewer than Mines. 

Chadron State had two double-figure scorers. Julio Phipps was 6-of-8 from the field, sank his only 3-pointer and made both of his free throws for 15 points and Darrius Miles finished with 14 points by going 6-of-9 from the field and 1-of-2 on both 3-pointers and free throws.

The Orediggers, now 11-2 for the season and 5-0 in the RMAC, led the entire game. They jumped out to a 9-0 lead in the first 90 seconds when their leading scorers for both the game and the season, seniors Majok Deng and Riley Schroeder, each sank a 3-pointer and Deng added three free throws after he was fouled while firing from behind the arc again.

The Eagles soon had the difference down to four points when Miles scored on a putback, guard Jalen Thomas stole the ball and nailed a jumper and Miles made one of two free throws. 

Mines responded by going on another 9-0 run to take an 18-5 lead. Schroeder tallied seven of those points by hitting a jumper, getting a tipin and sinking another trey. That gave Schroeder 10 of his final tally of 12 points in the game. Only Deng, who was 7-of-7 at the free throw line while finishing with a game-high 17 points, scored more points for the Orediggers. 
  
Although Mines led by 13 just five-and-a-half minutes into the game, the Eagles chipped away and drew within five points—33-28—on Zy Wright's layup with 3:20 remaining in the opening half. Unfortunately, Chadron State failed to score again in the half and trailed 37-28 at intermission. The Orediggers also netted 12 of the first 14 points in the second half to build a 49-30 advantage and led by at least 14 points the rest of the way.

Phipps and Miles were CSC's top rebounders with five apiece.  The Eagles finished with 32 rebounds, one fewer than Mines, but scored 34 points in the paint, six more than the visitors. CSC also shot 43.1% from the field while Mines was just 41.8%, but the Orediggers 23-of-24 free throw marksmanship made the difference.  
 
Chadron State will play at home again Saturday afternoon when they greet another Denver-area team, Regis. The Rangers are 5-8 after losing to Black Hills State 90-73 Thursday night in Spearfish. 
   
Colorado School of Mines—Majok Deng 17, Riley Schroeder 12, Grant Pressly 9, Alex Romack 8, Jonathan Moore 8, Reagan Koch 8, Markus Pastorcic-Straun 7, Cade Mankle 4, Adam Krasovec 3. Totals: 23-55 FG (7-24 3PT) 23-24 FT. 76 points, 33 rebounds, 13 assists, 13 turnovers.

Chadron State—Julio Phipps 15, Darrius Miles 14, Zy Wright 9, Jalen Thomas 6, Jasiya DeOllos 6, John Jenkins 5, Dalton Peterson 3, Zach Smith 3. Totals: 25-58 FG (6-16 3PT) 5-8 FT. 61 points, 32 rebounds 12 assists, 18 turnovers.

Eagles Drop Low-Scoring Game To Orediggers

CHADRON, Neb. – In a game where neither team shot better than 30 percent from the field, Jenna Siebert's 23 points on 25 field goal attempts were the difference for the visiting Colorado School of Mines Orediggers, who defeated Chadron State 55-45 in an RMAC women's basketball game at the Chicoine Center Thursday.

The loss drops the Eagles to 2-9 overall and 1-4 in the RMAC. Mines improved to 4-9 overall and 2-3 in conference play. 

Kyra Tanabe (13 points) and Allison Richards (11) scored in double figures for Chadron State, with Richards returning to the rotation after a two-game absence. Tanabe shot 4-for-13 from the field, grabbed eight rebounds and dished out a team-high three assists. Ashayla Powers had a team-high nine rebounds to go with seven points. 

The Eagles shot 25.4 percent from the field, making 15 of 59 field goal attempts. They were only 15.8 percent from three (3-19) but continued to excel from the free-throw line, hitting 92.3 of shots from the stripe (12-13). The Eagles are hitting 80 percent of their free throws as a team this season, third-best in the RMAC. 

Despite the low percentages for CSC, the Eagles defense forced the Orediggers into a tough shooting night as well. The visitors were 27.3 percent from the field, 16.7 percent from three and only 63 percent (17-27) from the line. 

The difference came with Colorado School of Mines outrebounding CSC 52-45, including 18 offensive rebounds that consistently gave the Orediggers extra possessions. Chadron State also committed 15 turnovers, the Orediggers had just 10. 

Colorado School of Mines took an early lead by margins of 6-0 and 9-3, but the Eagles used a 7-0 scoring run with four points from Jordyn Stokes and a three from Allison Richards to take a 10-9 lead after one quarter of play. 

The Eagles led for much of the second quarter as both teams struggled to score. Back-to-back jumpers from Olivia Waufle and Tanabe gave CSC its largest lead at 14-10, but Mines took a 17-16 lead on a Peyton Freiermuth jumper with 2:10 to go in the first half and led 19-17 at halftime.

The teams traded baskets early in the third, with an Allison Richards three-point play making it 23-22, Orediggers. But Mines found a run, outscoring CSC 11-2 over the next five minutes of game time to separate and build the first double digit lead for either team.

CSC closed the third quarter on a 6-2 run, but Mines maintained the lead throughout the fourth quarter. It was a two-point game at 47-45 with a minute to play, but Siebert had a layup and Mines scored six points from the free-throw line in the game's final 19 seconds for a deceptively large final margin of victory.

Chadron State will remain at home this Saturday against Regis (5-7, 3-2 RMAC). The Rangers lost 79-55 to Black Hills State on Thursday and have dropped their last three. 

Chadron State— Kyra Tanabe 13, Allison Richards 11, Ashayla Powers 7, Jordyn Stokes 4, McKenzi Petersen 4, Olivia Waufle 2, Bati Assefa 2, Liberty Line 2. Totals: 15-59 FG, 3-19 3PT, 12-13 FT. 45 points, 45 rebounds, 7 assists, 15 turnovers.

Colorado School of Mines— Jenna Siebert 23, Josephine Howery 13, Jessica Rios 8, Isa Hensley 4, Audrey Beaty 3, Emma Sixta 2, Peyton Freiermuth 2. Totals: 18-66 FG, 2-12 3PT, 17-27 FT. 55 points, 52 rebounds, 6 assists, 10 turnovers.