Chadron State College Athletics

The Chadron State College 1966-67 men’s basketball team was inducted into the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame during a reunion on campus in July.  
The Eagles had a 22-6 record and won both the Nebraska College Conference and NAIA District 11 championships in 1966-67.  At the national tourney in Kansas City, the Eagles became the first Nebraska team to win a game in about a decade when they defeated Millersville College of Pennsylvania 83-66.  Morris-Harvey of West Virginia topped CSC 91-76 in the second round.
The Eagles were coached by Mack Peyton, who died in 1980 at age 57. He became the head coach at CSC in 1960 and continued in the position through the 1973-74 season.    
Jerry Bartak, Marlin Green, Don Reel and Jim Rhodes, all of them in the six-foot to 6-2 range, joined the late Joe Johnson, a powerful 6-foot-6 center, as the starters most of the time during the team’s championship season. Much of the bench strength was provided by Larry Baumann, another guard, along with 6-8 Lee Dick and 6-7 Jack Kuiper. Rod Ehler also saw action in many of the games.
The Eagles’ only losses that season were on the road.
Rhodes was the team’s leading scorer for the season with a 24.2-point average. Bartak, a four-year starter, was next with a 17.8 average. Reel chipped in 13.2 points a game and Johnson averaged more than 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Other team members included Rex Brown, Chuck Bunner, Carroll Dolson and Mike Winchell. Also a part of “the gang” is John Smith, who joined the Eagles in 1967-68, when he averaged 15.3 points and 5.4 rebounds.