CHADRON, Neb. -- November 22, 2015 -- Chadron State College men's basketball got into the win column in their first home contest on Sunday afternoon at the Chicoine Center in Chadron. They defeated the Dickinson State University Blue Hawks by a score of 84-79 to advance to 1-1. DSU heads back to North Dakota with a respectable 3-3 start to the season.

Sophomore guard Sharif Black was clutch in the final seconds of the game. After picking up his fourth personal foul with over six minutes remaining in the game, Eagles up 71-64, he sat for nearly 5:30 before re-entering at 0:48. When Dickinson State had crept within one possession, trailing 77-74, Black immediately drew a foul and sank two free throws.

Continuing their comeback bid, DSU got a three-pointer from Brandon Ruffin and a layup by Curtis Redd, while CSC missed three of four free throws. Trailing only 80-79, the visitors caught a break on an Eagle turnover needing only a single shot in six seconds for the win.

Once again, Black was clutch, swiping a Blue Hawk inbound pass out of the air and drawing an intentional foul from Redd, who was also assessed a technical on the play. Hitting all four from the charity stripe, the Eagles prevailed.

Black set new career highs with 17 points and three assists versus the Blue Hawks. Even more impressive, he did it playing only 14 minutes. He was 2-for-2 from the perimeter, and 9-of-12 on free throws.

The Eagles shot impressively from the floor, riding a 53.1% first-half performance to a final percentage of 47.5%. They were particularly effective from the three-point line, where Andre Miller, Jordan Perry, Myles Robinson, and Leigh Saffin each shot for at least 40.0%. As a team, CSC shot 42.9% from long range.

CSC also spread the ball around particularly well. Eight players finished with at least one assist. Senior point guard Justyn Anderson finished in front with five, while committing only one turnover. All 11 players who received playing time were good on at least one field goal. As a team, the Eagles found each other for 19 assists, while committing only 11 turnovers. The CSC bench outscored that of their opponents, 42-18.

Billy Johnson was the second-leading scorer for CSC, on 6-of-14 shooting from the field. Miller had 11 points and tied the game-high in rebounds with seven.

Davante McCallum also grabbed seven boards with three on the offensive end.

"I was really impressed with our toughness tonight," said Bargen after the game. "They threw some different looks at us defensively, and we were pretty unfazed. When we were up 14 going into the half, we didn't let off."

CSC never trailed in the game, and were tied only once midway through the second half.

The Eagles return to Chicoine Center tomorrow night, hosting Montana State University-Northern at 7 p.m. The Northern Lights were victorious over Dickinson State by a 76-65 margin on November 7, at home in Havre, Montana.

Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
Dickinson State Univ..........   32   47  -   79
Chadron State.................      46   38  -   84