By: Paxton Ritchie
CSC Sports Information Director
SALT LAKE CITY – Chadron State built a double-digit lead in the first half and made it stick, leading wire-to-wire and earning a hard-fought 73-67 RMAC victory over Westminster on Thursday evening in Utah.
Isaiah Randolph led a group of five CSC players in double figures with 18 points on 6 of 10 shooting while Blessing Adesipe added 15 points, Zach Smith 13, Jadon Cool 11 and Mack Keighran 10.
The Eagles also lit up from long range, setting a new season high with 15 made three-pointers and tying a season-best by shooting 42.9 percent (15-35) from the field as a team. CSC previously hit the same percentage by making 9 of 21 attempts against Nebraska-Kearney on December 16.
Chadron State also stuck with a short rotation – only nine players saw the court and only six played more than 10 minutes. Zach Smith played a season-high 35 minutes while Randolph (33), Adesipe (31) and Cool (31) also topped 30 minutes played.
Keighran (26 minutes off the bench) and Luka Djuvoric (22 minutes) also played substantial roles. Djurovic and Adesipe tied for the team lead with seven rebounds apiece while Keighran tallied a team-high four assists.
The Eagles shot 45.3 percent from the field in addition to their season-best three-point shooting night and were 66.7 percent (10-15) from the line. The host Griffins shot only 38.3 percent from the field and 27.6 percent from three.
Westminster was unable to shoot well enough to take advantage of a 39-31 rebounding edge. The Griffins had 15 offensive rebounds, but only managed nine second chance points off those opportunities, as the Eagles tenaciously guarded the second shots as effectively as the first.
The Eagles soared out to an 8-0 lead after back-to-back threes from Randolph and a steal with a layup at the other end from Keighran. The visitors led by double digits for the first time when a Zach Smith three made it 22-11 and ran their advantage up to as much as 18 with just over two minutes to play in the first half.
Adesipe, who had four three-pointers on the night, hit a pair midway through the second half as the Eagles still led by 16 points with just under 10 minutes left in the game, but the home team made an effort to come back.
The Griffins went on a 6-0 run to trim CSC's lead to 11 points, then later used a 10-3 run to pull within four points at 71-67 with 59 seconds left, the smallest margin since it was 3-0, CSC. Westminster missed its final two field goal attempts, both three-pointers, and CSC grabbed both rebounds and had Randolph add two points from the stripe to ice it with one second remaining.
Chadron State is now 4-13 overall and 2-7 in the RMAC. Westminster drops to 7-10 overall and also 2-7 in the RMAC. The Eagles will face Colorado Mesa (10-7, 6-3 RMAC) this Saturday at 3 p.m.
Chadron State—Isaiah Randolph 18, Blessing Adesipe 15, Zach Smith 13, Jadon Cool 11, Mack Keighran 10, Luka Djurovic 3, Jackson Schauer 3. Totals: 24-53 FG (15-35 3PT) 10-15 FT. 73 points, 31 rebounds, 12 assists, 12 turnovers.