CHADRON - The Chadron State College basketball teams will begin their second round of competition against Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference opponents this weekend when they take on Metro State and Regis in Denver.
 
The same two teams came to Chadron for the final games before Christmas.
 
In that action, the visitors swept the CSC women with Regis winning 94-71 and Metro taking a 67-60 verdict. The Chadron State men defeated Regis 67-61, but Metro topped the Eagles 83-71 the next night.
 
Both Regis and Metro are in middle of the RMAC women's standings with only a month to go in the regular season. Regis is 9-8 overall 7-6 in the RMAC while Metro is 7-10 for the season and 6-7 in conference play.
 
The Regis women are led by senior guard Tae'lor Purdy, who is averaging 23.1 points and 10.5 rebounds. She is 120 of 152 from the free throw line while none of her teammates has gone to the line more than 34 times.
 
Three Metro women are averaging in double figures, led by Amy Nelson at 11.1 points and 7.4 rebounds a game.
 
Kattie Ranta leads the Chadron State women in scoring at 17.5 points per game and Kayli Rageth isn't far behind at 15.7. Ranta is also the team's leading rebounder at 10.2 per game and ranks fourth nationally in double doubles (12). In 13 RMAC games, Ranta has averaged 19.1 points and 10.2 rebounds.
 
The Metro men are flying high again this season. They are 16-1 for the season and 13-0 in league play while outscoring their opponents by an average of 17.5 points a game.  Brandon Jefferson, a 5-9 senior who was the conference's Preseason Player of the Year, leads the Road Runners with a 22-point scoring average. He's made 120 of 132 free throws for 91 percent so far this season.
 
Two Australians, Mitch McCarron and Nicholas Kay, are next on the Metro scoring chart with 16.1 and 14.4 averages.  Both were among the five players selected as the conference's top men's basketball scholar-athletes this season.
 
The Regis men won just one of their first 11 conference games, but defeated both Western State (67-61) and Colorado Mesa (82-73) at home last weekend. The Rangers are led in scoring by Jarrett Green at 13.6 points a game. Both Mike MacKelvie and Kevin Marshall are averaging about 11 points.
 
Seniors Zac Bargen at 11.9 and David Downey at 10.4 lead the team in scoring and four others are averaging at least eight points a game.
 
The Eagles will be at home the following weekend when they meet Western State and Mesa.