CHADRON, Neb. – After four games away from home to open the season, Chadron State men's basketball will play a regular season game at the Chicoine Center for the first time in the 2024-25 season this weekend, then get an early nonconference look at an RMAC opponent just before Thanksgiving. 

The Eagles (2-2) will take on the University of Sioux Falls (2-1) on Friday night in Chadron for their home opener, with tip-off set for 6 p.m. On the following Tuesday, November 26, Chadron State will travel to Lakewood, Colorado for a nonconference game against Colorado Christian (1-2) at 5 p.m.

Both matches will be streamed live on the RMAC Network. Tickets are available for Friday's home game. Chadron State fans can also listen to Friday's game live on Double Q Country 97.5 and doubleqcountry.com, with Dave Collins on the call. 

Looking Back
Chadron State split the weekend with a win and a loss for the second week in a row. The Eagles played a four-point and two-point game during the season-opening week in Texas, but the margins were wider last weekend in Kansas City.

RECAPS: Northwest Missouri State | Ottawa

Chadron State hung within four points of nationally ranked Northwest Missouri State at halftime, but the No. 20 Bearcats pulled away for a 74-57 win. The following day, the Eagles bounced back to defeat Ottawa 83-67, hitting 11 threes as a team in the contest.

Sweet Stroke
Senior guard Dalton Peterson led the charge for the Eagles' perimeter shooting in the win over Ottawa. 

While it might seem strange to refer to Peterson as a surprise breakout star given that the Wyoming native started every game for CSC last year, Peterson had only managed to play three minutes all season entering the game against Ottawa and had missed the Northwest Missouri State game entirely the night before.

None of that mattered against the Braves, as Peterson played 24 minutes and scored 18 points, all from beyond the arc. Peterson was 6-for-10 from the field, with every shot attempt coming from deep, and added three rebounds, three assists and two steals. 

Peterson's 18 points were a season-high and two points off his career-high of 20, which came in December 2023 against Colorado Christian, Chadron State's opponent next Tuesday. That CCU game was one of two last season where Peterson hit six threes like he did last Friday.

Bronx Bomber
Bronx, New York native Julio Phipps also had a career-best week in Kansas City, shooting over 70 percent from the field, blocking four shots, setting a career high in points and recording his first career double double across the two games last week.

Phipps led the Eagles with 18 points against No. 20 Northwest Missouri, adding three blocks and 10 rebounds for a double-double, his first in a CSC uniform. Among his 10 rebounds, six were offensive boards to create second-chance opportunities for the Eagles. 

The 18 points are the most in Phipps's CSC career, surpassing his previous high of 10. It was just off his collegiate career high, which is 21 points in junior college from December 4, 2021. Phipps is in his second season with the Eagles after playing two years at Porterville College.

Phipps followed up his career high with another efficient performance vs. Ottawa, scoring 10 points while making 4 of 5 field goal attempts and adding six rebounds, another block and two steals.

Friendly Confines
Chadron State will be playing its first home game of the season this Friday, and the Eagles will be looking to continue a trend where they have played extremely well on the home court. 

During last year's 12-17 season, Chadron State had a 9-6 home record compared to a 3-11 record away from Chicoine. In 2022-23, the Eagles were even better, putting up an 11-2 home record while going 8-8 in road or neutral games. 

The last time Chadron State had a losing record at home was in 2021-22, when CSC was 5-8 in Chadron. That mark was still better than the Eagles' road record that year, however, as CSC went 2-9 in true road games. 

Early Stats
The Eagles are currently scoring 70.8 points per game and giving up 70.5 per game. Chadron State ranks fourth in the RMAC in team rebounds per game (41) and rebounding margin (+5.5). 

Additionally, the Eagles rank fifth in the conference in steals per game (7.5) and seventh in blocked shots per game (3.25). Chadron State is contesting opposing shots well, as the Eagles rank fifth in both opposing field goal percentage (.402) and opposing three-point percentage (.299). 

Individually in the early going, Julio Phipps ranks third in the RMAC with 1.5 blocks per game while Dalton Peterson is fifth in the league in three-point percentage (.600).

Scouting the Cougars
by Con Marshall
The Chadron State College men's basketball team will open its home schedule at 6 pm Friday by hosting the Sioux Falls Cougars. 

The South Dakotans are coming to CSC with a 2-1 record. They lost to Washburn 89-71, then defeated Southern Arkansas 73-69 and Jamestown of North Dakota 80-69. The Cougars were picked seventh out of 15 teams in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) poll.

Sioux Falls is led by redshirt senior Noah Puetz, who averages 14.7 points per game, and senior Shawn Warrior, who averages 13.7. Puetz and Warrior scored 21 and 22 points, respectively, against Southern Arkansas.

Sioux Falls and the Eagles have met each of the last five full seasons with the Cougars winning all five. Prior to that CSC had won three times dating back to the 1960s.

Some of the recent games have been close.  In 2019, the Cougars led 29-17 at halftime; the Eagles outscored them 42-33 in the second half, but still fell short 62-59. 

When the teams met in Chadron two years ago, Sioux Falls scored on an out-of-bounds alley-oop dunk at the buzzer to win 69-68.  Noah Puetz, then a sophomore and now a senior, scored just four points in the game but threw down the winning basket. 

The Cougars also won last year at home 84-72, largely on the strength of 3-point shooting.  They were 11-of-25 from behind the arc while the Eagles were 5-of-20. 

Scouting the Cougars
Next Tuesday, two days before Thanksgiving, CSC will take on Colorado Christian in a nonconference match-up. Although it won't count in the conference standings, it will count towards CSC's overall record for the season. 

More importantly, it will be the first time that the Eagles will have a chance to compare themselves to another RMAC school under first-year head coach Chris Francis and with a squad that features 10 newcomers to Chadron State and the RMAC as a whole.

Colorado Christian and Chadron State were picked 14^th and 15^th, respectively, among teams in the RMAC's Preseason Head Coaches Poll. The Cougars were 11-17 last season, with a 7-15 record in the RMAC. This season, CCU is 1-2, with losses to No. 5 DBU (76-67) and St. Edwards (74-71), but a win over Cal State Monterey Bay (75-52). 

The Cougars are led offensively by redshirt sophomore forward Bradley Land, who is averaging 17.7 points per game through three contests. Land has scored over 20 points twice already, including 22 against No. 5 Dallas Baptist. 

Colorado Christian is coached by Liam Simmons, who is in his fifth season. Simmons, a native of Australia, is the half-brother of NBA All-Star Ben Simmons. Colorado Christian is 24-15 all-time against Chadron State College. The two programs split a pair of matchups last season, with each team winning at home.

Coach's Corner
Chadron State Head Coach Chris Francis is in his first season leading the Eagle men's basketball program. Francis comes to Chadron after serving as the head coach at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma (NAIA) since 2015. 

At USAO, Francis put together a career record of 176-94. Francis led the Drovers to five NAIA National Tourney appearances, a Sooner Athletic Conference Championship, and a Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament Championship, also taking USAO to an NAIA Elite Eight. Francis is a two-time Sooner Athletic Conference Coach of the Year, winning the award in 2017 and 2022. 

A former student-athlete, Francis was a starting guard and captain of the men's basketball team at Rogers State University. In 2011, he helped lead Rogers State to the NAIA Elite Eight and a 30-2 record. Following that season, Francis was named the Sooner Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year. He was recently inducted into the Rogers State Athletic Hall of Fame.