CHADRON, Neb. – After finishing up 2025 by facing two opponents outside Division II, Chadron State men's basketball is back to RMAC action this weekend at the Chicoine Center, including a showdown against a nationally-ranked opponent.

The Eagles (6-6, 2-2 RMAC) will face No. 15/No. 13-ranked Colorado School of Mines (10-2, 4-0 RMAC) at 7 p.m. this Thursday, followed by a matchup against Regis (5-7, 3-1 RMAC) on Saturday at 3 p.m.

Both games will be streamed by CSC Live on the RMAC Network. A radio broadcast will be available live on Double Q Country 97.5 or doubleqcountry.com, with Dave Collins on the call. Fans can also follow the game via live stats.

Ticket Deal
Tickets remain available for Eagle fans to watch Thursday and Saturday's games in person. To celebrate back-to-school for the Chadron School District, tickets to this weekend's basketball games will be buy-one-get-one-free at the door for parents of Chadron public school students.

Looking Back
Back on December 12 and 14, Chadron State managed a key road split against a pair of opponents that at the time were regionally ranked, as the Eagles knocked off CSU Pueblo 66-62 before losing to UCCS 84-79. 

The Eagles then returned home to face NAIA opponent Central Christian in a nonconference game, soaring past the Tigers 107-50, before losing in an exhibition contest to Division I South Dakota State. 

RECAPS: CSU Pueblo | UCCS | Central Christian

Chadron State opened up a 16-point halftime lead against the ThunderWolves, who entered that contest with a 7-1 record, and held on despite the home team cutting the lead to two points. Zy Wright scored an NCAA career-high 24 points in the win over Pueblo and matched it two days later against UCCS. 

Player of the Week
Senior guard Zy Wright became the first CSC basketball player of the season to take home an RMAC weekly award when he was named the RMAC Offensive Player of the Week back on December 16. 

STORY: Wright Named Offensive Player of the Week

Wright scored 24 points twice as the Eagles defeated CSU Pueblo and narrowly lost to UCCS. The Georgia native started the week by leading CSC to a win over CSU Pueblo, making 6 of 12 field goal attempts, 2 of 3 three-pointers and going a perfect 10-for-10 on free throw attempts, the most free throws without a miss by an RMAC player in a game this season. He also added eight rebounds and two steals.

Wright's 24 points were a new NCAA career-high for the Texas-Permian Basin transfer, but he matched that total two days later. On Saturday against UCCS, Wright again scored 24 points with six rebounds, three assists and two more steals. 

Wright is the first CSC player to win weekly honors from the RMAC since Martin Poznanovic took home the offensive honor on December 18, 2023. CSU Pueblo's De'Shaun Cooper took home the RMAC Defensive Player of the Week award this week alongside Wright. 

Lights Out
Last time Chadron State was on the court for an official game, the Eagles shot nearly 70 percent from both two-point and three-point range in their 107-50 victory over Central Christian. 

The Eagles made 43 of 64 field goal attempts (.672) and were even better, percentage-wise, from three-point land, sinking 16 of 23 attempts for a .696 percentage, which is the best single-game percentage by an RMAC team this season. The 16 threes are the fifth-most in a single game by an RMAC team so far in 2024-25. 

Guards Trey Ballard and Dalton Peterson hit five three-pointers apiece to combine for 10 of CSC's 16 triples. Post players Darrius Miles (season-high 22 points, 10-11 FG) and Julio Phipps (19 points, 9-10 FG) also went to work inside. 

Jalen Thomas recorded 11 assists, becoming the first Eagle with 10 or more in a game in 2024-25. 

Chadron State's 16 made three-pointers are just two off the single-game school record of 18, set on November 21, 2021 against Haskell Indian Nations. That game also featured the single-game program record for assists (35). 

The 57-point margin of victory is the second highest in school history, trailing only a 103-45 CSC win over South Dakota Mines in November of 1998. Ironically, the Hardrockers had defeated Chadron State by 10 points just 11 days before that 58-point blowout. 

Jewel-io
While new CSC head coach Chris Francis brought in 10 new players to his 15-player roster this season, he has also unearthed a hidden gem in returning Eagle Julio Phipps. 

Phipps, a 6-foot-5 senior from New York, averaged 2.7 points in just under 12 minutes per game last season for Chadron State but is up to 20.7 minutes per game under Francis and is the team's third-leading scorer, averaging 10.5 points per game. Phipps is shooting .620 from the field and .711 from the free-throw line, also making 1 of 2 three-point attempts. 

He averaged 17.3 points per game during CSC's recent three-games-in-five-days stretch in mid-December, scoring 17 against CSU Pueblo, 16 against UCCS and 19 against Central Christian. 

Phipps is also third on the team with 4.8 rebounds per game and leads the Eagles and ranks fifth in the RMAC with 13 blocks.

More Than Five
The Eagles have been far more than just their starting unit throughout the season. Chadron State ranks second in the RMAC and 28^th in Division II in bench points per game, receiving 32.2 points per contest from non-starters. 

Chadron State players have been productive even while moving in and out of head coach Chris Francis's lineup. Only two players (John Jenkins and Jalen Thomas) have started every game for the Eagles this season, despite seven players appearing in all 12 games thus far. Two of Chadron State's top five scorers, Julio Phipps (10.5 ppg) and Trey Ballard (9.1 ppg), have combined for one start. 

The Eagles have also seen eight different players take the scoring load on a game-to-game basis across 12 games. Trey Ballard (15 against Texas A&M-International, 18 against CCU), Jalen Thomas (16 against Texas A&M-Kingsville, 20 against Sioux Falls), Julio Phipps (18 against Northwest Missouri State), Dalton Peterson (18 against Ottawa), Darrius Miles (18 against Ottawa, 18 against South Dakota Mines, 22 against Central Christian), Zy Wright (16 against UNK, 24 against CSU Pueblo, 24 against UCCS), Treyson Neff (16 against UNK) and John Jenkins (19 against Black Hills State) have all led or tied for the lead in team points so far this season.

In the Polls
The RMAC has two nationally ranked teams in the NABC Coaches Poll, with Colorado School of Mines at No. 15 and MSU Denver at No. 22. Mines is also ranked in the D2CSC Media Poll at No. 13, while MSU Denver is receiving votes. 

The D2CSC South Central regional rankings have two RMAC teams among the region's top 10 – Colorado School of Mines at No. 2 and MSU Denver at No. 4. Fort Lewis and CSU Pueblo both received votes. 

With a new coaching staff and predominantly new players, Chadron State men's basketball was picked 15^thin the preseason RMAC Coaches Poll for the 2024-25 campaign. 
Colorado School of Mines, who finished third in the league last season, were picked first for this year, receiving 11 of 15 first-place votes. MSU Denver received two first-place votes to come second, followed by Regis in third, which received one first-place vote. 

Black Hills State was fourth in the poll, while Colorado Mesa received the final first-place vote and finished fifth. The rest of the poll includes CSU Pueblo, UCCS and New Mexico Highlands in the final RMAC Tournament positions, followed by Fort Lewis, South Dakota Mines, Western Colorado, Westminster, Adams State, Colorado Christian, and the Eagles. 

Scouting the Orediggers
Colorado School of Mines is 10-2 overall and are co-leading the RMAC with a 4-0 conference record. They returned to action this past Saturday, January 4, with a 106-48 win over NAIA Northern New Mexico. The Orediggers are currently ranked No. 15 in the nation in the NABC Coaches Poll and No. 13 in the D2CSC Media Poll. 

In RMAC play, the Orediggers have defeated Adams State, New Mexico Highlands, Colorado Mesa and Westminster. They also boast a 40-point nonconference win over UCCS. The Orediggers finished third last season in the RMAC but were projected to win the league in this year's preseason poll and are following through on that so far. 

The Orediggers are led by grad student and Pepperdine University transfer Majok Deng, who is currently fifth in the RMAC averaging 16.2 points per game. Deng shoots 46 percent from the field and makes 1.9 threes per game. 

Seniors Riley Schroeder (11.8 points per game) and Juani Dassie (11.3 ppg, .514 3PT) and underclassmen Alex Romack (10.7 ppg, 5.2 rpg) and Markus Pastorcic-Straun (10.0 ppg, 1.3 steals per game) all average in double figures. The Orediggers have five players with double-digit steals and four players averaging two or more assists per game. 

Orediggers Head Coach Pryor Orser is in his 24^th season in charge and is the all-time RMAC leader in career wins. At Mines, Orser has won five RMAC regular-season championships, two RMAC tournament titles and two NCAA Elite Eight appearances.

Scouting the Rangers
The Regis Rangers are 5-7 overall with a 3-1 mark in RMAC play. The Rangers have some big wins on their resume, including regionally ranked Lubbock Christian and last year's top two RMAC teams in Fort Lewis and Colorado Mesa, but have also lost to UT Dallas, a Division III school transitioning to Division II in 2025, and Nebraska-Kearney, who Chadron State beat by 16 points at home. Regis was picked third in the 2024-25 RMAC Preseason Poll. This will be the only regular-season meeting between Chadron State and Regis this season.

The Rangers have been in plenty of close games recently, winning on a buzzer-beater over Fort Lewis but falling at the buzzer a week later to Western Colorado. Three of Regis's four RMAC games have been decided by three points or less.

Regis is led by junior guard Chase Mayo Harmon, who is eighth in the RMAC averaging 15.2 points per game and hit the game-winning shot against Fort Lewis. Sophomore Jalen Brown (13.0 points per game) and grad student guard Eddy Egun (11.4) are also in double figures. 

Grad student guard Kobe Sanders has been a playmaker for Regis this season, leading the RMAC with 53 assists and 4.4 per game. Sanders also ranks seventh in the league in three-point percentage, draining threes at a 40 percent clip.  

Head Coach Brady Bergeson is in his 10^th season with the Rangers. Under Bergeson, the Rangers won the RMAC Tournament title in 2017-18 and made it back to the championship game in 2021-22. 

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.