CHADRON, Neb. – Redshirt freshman Jackson Schauer hit eight three-pointers, Jadon Cool scored 17 second-half points and Chadron State rallied from as many as 21 points down to stun MSU Denver 84-77 at home in the Chicoine Center. 

Chadron State is now 6-17 overall and 4-11 in the RMAC after the Eagles outscored the Roadrunners 55-32 in the second half. MSU Denver dropped to 7-16 and 5-10 in the RMAC after leading by 16 points at halftime.

Schauer finished with 26 points, nearly doubling his previous career high of 14. The South Dakota native hit four triples in each half and accounted for eight of CSC's 13 total makes by himself. 

Cool made 12 of 14 free-throw attempts, the last two with a bloody mouth after a hard foul with 3.8 seconds left, and finished with 22 points for his fifth 20-point game of the season.

Zach Smith tied a career-high with 37 minutes logged and made plays all night long, chipping in 10 points to go with game-high totals of five assists and four steals. Isaiah Randolph (12 points), Blessing Adesipe (10) and Smith gave the Eagles five double-figure scorers.

Two weeks after shooting 70 percent from the field in the second half of their most recent win, the Eagles again found another several gears out of the locker room. After halftime, Chadron State sunk 59.3 percent of its total attempts and 61.5 percent of three-pointers (8-13). Over the same stretch, the Roadrunners shot 30 percent from the field and 8.3 percent (1-12) from deep.

An inauspicious start set the stage for CSC's dramatic comeback. The Eagles trailed 13-2, 21-5 and 31-13 and shot only 28.6 percent in the first half while the Roadrunners made 9 of 16 threes. 

CSC's largest deficit of the night came with under three minutes to go in the first half, when the cherry on top of a 6-0 MSU Denver run made it 42-21, Roadrunners. The visitors led 45-29 at the break. 

Still, there were signs in the first half of what was to come. Schauer, who came off the bench, took his first three-point attempt with 6:57 remaining in the first half and missed. He would make his next four before the end of the half, providing both a spark and a healthy chunk of CSC's entire point total, then missed an off-balance heave at the buzzer.

In the second half, MSU Denver turned it over on its first two possessions, then missed seven of its first eight field goal attempts. CSC used those empty possessions to chip away – Smith and Adesipe tallied five points while Cool had four on a 17-4 run across the first six-and-a-half minutes. 

Then, Schauer took over. Every time the ball rippled through the net, the Eagles' momentum, player emotions and the volume from fans inside the Chicoine Center intensified, starting with murmurs and growing until it reverberated into an unstoppable tidal wave of energy. 

Schauer's first three of the second half cut the deficit to just two points at 51-49. His second three came a minute later, halting a mini 4-0 Roadrunner run. His third three gave the Eagles a 58-56 lead, their first of the game after Cool had tied it at 55 with a three of his own. 

His fourth three brought the lead up to five points at 63-58, and the perimeter opened up for other options. Cool hit a stepback three and Luka Djurovic blew by a defender for a layup, and suddenly, it was 70-59 Eagles, an incredible 41-14 scoring reversal since the start of the half. 

The game grew more physical after halftime as teams attacked the paint (a category in which MSU Denver did lead, 34-22). There were only 10 total free throws in the first half, all by the Eagles, but the two teams combined for 40 in the second half with the visitors taking 21. 

The Eagles were better from the line to maintain their cushion down the stretch, hitting 23 of 29 attempts (79.3 percent) while the Roadrunners made 13 of 21 (61.9 percent). Cool (12-for-14), Isaiah Randolph (4-for-5) and Smith (3-for-4) accounted for most of the free throw damage.

This is the only matchup between Chadron State and MSU Denver this season. The previous matchup was just as wild, with the Eagles coming back from an 11-point halftime deficit but losing 73-71 after a made halfcourt shot by Chadron State was ruled to be after the buzzer. 

The Eagles will try to corral their positive momentum into another key showdown against Colorado School of Mines this Saturday. The Orediggers (13-13, 9-6 RMAC) lost to Black Hills State on Thursday. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.

​Chadron State—Jackson Schauer 26, Jadon Cool 22, Isaiah Randolph 12, Zach Smith 10, Blessing Adesipe 10, Luka Djurovic 3, Jovan Jovanovic 1. Totals: 24-55 FG (13-31 3PT) 23-29 FT. 84 points, 29 rebounds, 14 assists, 11 turnovers.

​MSU Denver—Logan Threatt 18, Amare Bethel 15, Quave Propst-Allison 14, Adam Hackett 11, Daniel Thomason 10, Brian Unachukwu 4, Nathan Macadory 3, Jacob Barker 2. Totals: 27-62 FG (10-28 3PT) 13-21 FT. 77 points, 38 rebounds, 12 assists, 16 turnovers.

MSU Denver Tops Eagle WBB in Second Half

CHADRON, Neb. – Led by senior center McKenzi Petersen, the Chadron State College women's basketball team trailed by just six at halftime but couldn't generate enough offense in the second half to stay in contention and dropped a 71-52 decision to MSU Denver on Thursday evening. 

Petersen was both the game's leading scorer with 18 points and leading rebounder with nine. Her presence was particularly noticeable late in the opening half when she took the ball to the basket three times in the final 2 minutes and 20 seconds to help cut in half what had been a 12-point deficit. 

A native of Winnemucca, Nevada, Petersen also scored Chadron State's opening two field goals in the third period, the first a layup off a pass from Evelyn Old Coyote and the second on a putback after Petersen had grabbed an offensive rebound.  

Midway in the third frame, she also scored on a fast break that reduced the Roadrunners' lead to just five points—43-38. But soon afterwards, she was called for her fourth foul, which forced her to the bench after scoring six of her team's 10 points in the frame while Metro State had widened its lead to 52-40 going into the final period. Petersen would eventually foul out midway through the fourth quarter.

While Petersen shot nine of 15 from the field while scoring her 18 points and Audrey Quintana had 11 points on four field goals, three of them three-pointers, none of the other Eagles had more then two baskets or more than seven points.

The Eagles were 20 of 68 from the field for 29.4 percent. The Roadrunners were 28 of 55 on its field goal shots for 50.9 percent. Each team made six three-pointers, but CSC took 30 shots from behind the arc while the visitors needed just 18.
                
For the Roadrunners, junior Jadyn Watts was 5 of 7 from the field to go with three free throws for 13 points, senior Mikylah Espinosa was 6 of 10 for 12 points and senior Brianna Sealy was 4 of 5 and added two charity shots for 10 points.

Another factor for MSU Denver was 6-foot-3 sophomore Keira Mitchell, who made all three of her field goal shots and both of her free throws for eight points and also was the visitors' leading rebounder with eight. She also blocked a pair of CSC shots. 

The Roadrunners are now 11-13 for the season and 9-6 in the RMAC. The CSC women have still won just one game this season. They'll tip off the double-header versus Colorado School of Mines at 1 p.m. Saturday in the Chicoine Center. 

                MSU Denver—Jaydn Watts 13, Mikylah Espinosa 12, Brianna Sealy 10, Brooklynn Jones 9. Keira Mitchell 8, Nevaeh Millard 8, Madison Johnson 6, Sarah Nocke 5. Totals: 28-55 FG, 6-18 3PT) 9-17 FT, 71 points, 45 rebounds, 14 assists, 7 turnovers.
                Chadron State—McKenzi Petersen 18, Audrey Quintana 11, Ella Moser 7, Dreanna Jackson 5, Keziah Toran 4, Alex Ridenour 3, Teryn Stokes 2, Kenna Wagner 2. Totals: 20-68 FG (6-30 3PT) 6-9 FT, 52 points, 37 rebounds, 14 assists, 11 turnovers.
 

Clapper Runs Career-Best 200 Meters

BROOKINGS, S.D. – Chadron State College junior Ryan Clapper ran a career-best time of 21.76 seconds while placing third in the 200 meters during the first day of the SDSU Indoor Classic on Friday.

Clapper, who hails from Yoder, Wyoming, had previously run the 200 in 21.87 and 21.86 seconds this season. Another CSC standout, senior Esosa Iyengunmwena, was fifth in the same race Friday in 22.14 seconds. They were among eight elite sprinters invited to compete in the race.
  
Entries from St. Thomas College in Minnesota took the first two places.  Johnny Bezdick was first in 21.54 seconds and Jayson Koel was second in 21.69.  

Clapper's time of 21.76 seconds ties for second on Chadron State's indoor 200 meters list. He now shares it with Joel Duffield, a native of Morrill, Nebraska who posted that time at the NCAA Division II National Indoor Championships in Boston in 2006. Duffield's time was the CSC record and stood until Brodie Roden ran the event in 21.59 seconds while winning it at the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference's Championships in 2020.  

Besides the invitational 200 that Clapper and Iyengumnwena ran Friday, there was a 200-meter open race that drew 36 contestants. Chadron State sophomore Christopher Cormier of Sparks, Nevada, placed fifth in it in 22.23 seconds, just .02 of a second from his season-best. 

A full slate of both track and field events, including more 200 races, are scheduled for Saturday at the meet in Brookings.