CHADRON, Neb. -- January 23, 2016 -- Chadron State College men's basketball (6-11, 4-9 RMAC) rallied in the second half after trailing by 17 with under 15 minutes remaining. They were unable to contain RMAC Preseason Player of the Year Ryan Stephan, however, as the Colorado Mesa big man poured in 42 points to put together one of the most prolific nights ever in CSC's home arena. Colorado Mesa (13-6, 9-4 RMAC) won tonight in Chicoine Center, 85-72.

The rest of the CMU team scored a combined 43.

Stephan picked up his fourth foul with 8:02 remaining in the second half, and the Eagles cut it to 73-69 on a putback by Jordan Green at 5:18.

When the 6-10, 250-pound Lakewood, Colorado, product re-entered almost immediately afterward, his presence was felt on nearly every defensive play. The Mavericks built it back to double-digits by the end, with CSC firing off several unsuccessful threes in response to the solid post defense of the Mavs.

Warren Gordon led the Eagles with 16 points, shooting under 30 percent on the night.Billy Johnson fared slightly better percentage-wise, and added 14 points.

CSC has another daunting road trip ahead of it, going to Alamosa, Colorado, to play Adams State on Friday night January 29, before heading to Durango to face the current conference leader, Fort Lewis College

Colorado Mesa     42     43    85
Chadron State      35     37    72
               
Colorado Mesa— Ryan Stephan 42, CJ Davis 11, Eimer Lopez 11, Tanner Riley 8, Connor Nichols 7, Kabir West 6. 
Chadron State— Warren Gordon 16, Billy Johnson 14, Davante McCallum 10, Jordan Perry 7, Sharif Black 6, Jordan Green 6, Andre Miller 6, Myles Robinson 5, Matt Reader 2.