CHADRON, Neb. – Chadron State men's basketball found itself in too steep of a first-half hole, as the Eagles fell 86-68 to Colorado Mesa despite keeping pace with the Mavericks throughout the second half. 

Colorado Mesa raced out to a 22-2 lead over the first six-and-a-half minutes of game time, and although Chadron State steadied the ship and cut the lead to 10 points midway through the first half, the Mavericks were content to trade points from there on out, leading by 16 at halftime and winning by 18.

Chadron State is now 4-14 overall and 2-8 in the RMAC. Colorado Mesa is 11-7 and 7-3.

The Eagles shot 32.7 percent from the field while their opponents sunk 53.3 percent of their field-goal shots (including 46.2 percent of threes). Chadron State did excel at getting to the free-throw line, hitting 27 of 30 attempts (20 of 21 in the second half) while the Mavericks made all 10 of theirs.

Success and frequency at the free-throw line impacted CSC's top scorers. Jadon Cool led the Eagles with 19 points despite shooting only 2 of 12 from the field – the junior got to the line for 15 free throw attempts and sunk 14 of them. Cool also did not commit a turnover in 37 minutes played. 

Isaiah Randolph shot 50 percent from the field (3-for-6) and 100 percent from the line (7-for-7), as Randolph and Mack Keighran scored 13 points apiece to give CSC three double-figure scorers. 

Keighran and Jackson Schauer hit two three-pointers apiece to lead the Eagles in that category, but CSC was only 7-for-29 overall from deep. Luka Djurovic scored nine points with a team-high six rebounds while Zach Smith led the Eagles with four assists and two steals. 

Colorado Mesa doubled up CSC in points in the paint – scoring 36 to CSC's 18. The Mavericks also outrebounded the Eagles 40-25 and had 24 assists compared to 10 by the Eagles. Chadron State did commit its third-fewest number of turnovers in a game this season with eight. 

Chadron State had a nightmare start as CMU threatened to end it early. The Mavericks made 8 of their first 10 field-goal attempts, including four three-pointers, while the Eagles were 1 of 9 in that span and the home team took a lightning-fast 22-2 lead.

The Eagles halted that run with a block by Isaiah Randolph that turned into a fastbreak three-pointer by Mack Keighran. CSC answered with another bucket, but Keighran then made a three-point play the old-fashioned way (layup plus a foul) and Luka Djuvoric had a shot from behind the arc to make it 24-11. 

After a jumper from Djurovic and two free throws from Randolph, the lead was back down to 10 at 26-16, but that would be as close as CSC would get over the rest of the game. The lead for Colorado Mesa hit its high mark when the Mavs went up by 27 at 62-35 with 13:03 to go in the second half.

Chadron State did end the game on an 11-4 run, which increased four free throws from Cool and a three from Zach Smith. Cool did most of his damage in the second half, scoring 13 of his 19 points and hitting all 11 of his second half free throws.

The Eagles have a rivalry week ahead, facing Black Hills State (15-3, 8-2 RMAC) on Tuesday in Chadron and South Dakota Mines (9-9, 6-4 RMAC) on Thursday in Rapid City.

​Chadron State—Jadon Cool 19, Isaiah Randolph 13, Mack Keighran 13, Luka Djurovic 9, Jackson Schauer 8, Zach Smith 4, Alexi Anderson 2. Totals: 17-52 FG (7-27 3PT) 27-30 FT. 68 points, 25 rebounds, 10 assists, 8 turnovers.

​Colorado Mesa—Ty Allred 21, Harvey White 16, Clayton Jewell 12, Wes Ball 12, Cohenj Gonzales 8, Ben Henderson 7, Kap Laila 5, Tevin Riehl 3, Ben Kaye 2. Totals: 32-60 FG (12-26 3PT) 10-10 FT. 86 points, 40 rebounds, 24 assists, 10 turnovers.