CHADRON — January 3, 2016
— Center Nelson Kahler scored a career-high 25 points and blocked seven shots to lead Colorado State-Pueblo to a 71-63 victory over Chadron State in a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference men's basketball game Sunday afternoon in Chadron.
The 6-8 Australian was 12 of 19 from the field.
Although Pueblo led 38 of the 40 minutes, the Eagles remained close most of the game.
The ThunderWolves were ahead 32-28 at halftime and built a game-high 12-point lead with 8:50 to play. But Chadron State cut the difference to only four points again twice in the final 75 seconds before Pueblo guard Will Newman, who finished with 12 points, sealed the outcome by making six consecutive free throws.
Pueblo, now 8-5 for the season and 4-3 in the RMAC, shot 51 percent (28-55) from the field, compared to Chadron State's 38 percent (25-66).
The Eagles' most glaring deficiency was their three-point shooting. They made their first shot from behind the arc to take a 3-2 lead, but missed all 13 of their ensuing long range attempts. During their 83-78 victory over Western State on Saturday, the Eagles sank 11 of 28 of their three-pointers.
Guard
Warren Gordon led Chadron State with 14 points, while forward
Jordan Green added 10.
Both Odessa Lear and Syrus McDonald scored 10 points for Pueblo, which was three of 11 on its three-point tries.
Now 5-6 overall and 3-4 in the conference, the Eagles will play South Dakota Mines at Rushmore Plaza Civic Center, and Black Hills State in Spearfish, South Dakota, on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 8 and 9, respectively.
Tickets for Friday's game in the 10,000-plus seat arena can be purchased
HERE.
CSU-Pueblo 32 39 ---71
Chadron State 28 35 ---63CSU-Pueblo—Nelson Kahler 25, Will Newman 12, Odessa Lear 10, Syrus McDonald 10, Josh Smith 6, Stevan Radokovic 4, Braydon Kuiper 4.
Chadron State—
Warren Gordon 14,
Jordan Green 10,
Sharif Black 8,
Matt Reader 6,
Billy Johnson 6, Jay Felton 6,
Justyn Anderson 4,
Davante McCallam 3,
Jordan Perry 3,
Andre Miller 3.
