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34th Annual Chadron High School Wrestling Invite Friday

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(By: Con Marshall)       

              The 34nd annual Chadron High School Invitational Wrestling Tournament will be this weekend in the Nelson Physical Activity Center at Chadron State College.

               The action will begin at noon Friday.  After going through three championship rounds and a spate of wrestle-backs on Friday, the competition will resume at 9 a.m. Saturday and continue until the 14 weight class champions are crowned that afternoon.

               The Chadron State wrestling team also will dual Western Colorado State on Friday evening, beginning around 6 o’clock.

               Twenty-two teams have entered the tournament, the same as last year. The tourney was begun by the late Bill Kant, long-time Cardinals’ wrestling coach, to help area teams have an experience similar to the state tournament.

                 The Nebraska teams entered besides the Cardinals are Alliance JV, Bayard, Bridgeport, Chase County, Crawford, Gordon-Rushville, Hay Springs, Hemingford, Minatare, Mitchell, Morrill, Ogallala and Valentine.

               The South Dakota entries are Hill City, Hot Springs, Little Wound, Newell and Pine Ridge.

               The only Wyoming team entered is Casper Natrona, but two first-time participants from Colorado–Longmont High and Mead High, located near Longmont–have signed up.

               Valentine is the defending team champion.  The Badgers won their first Chadron Tourney title last year by scoring 192.5 points, 6.5 more than runner-up Alliance.  Casper Natrona was third a year ago.

               The Valentine Badgers have won the last two Class C state tournament championships and are ranked first in the class again this year.

               Chadron, which has a 7-3 dual record, could challenge for a high placing.  The Cardinals finished eighth last year.

               Tickets to attend the tournament are $7 for adults and $5 for students each day.

High School Basketball Schedule – Thursday, January 17

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High School Basketball Schedule – Thursday, January 17

Girls

  • Leyton vs Bayard (MAC Tournament)
  • Minatare vs South Platte (MAC Tournament)
  • Hyannis at Sandhills/Thedford
  • Mullen at Cody-Kilgore
  • Valentine at Ainsworth

Boys

  • Leyton vs Bayard (MAC Tournament)
  • Hyannis at Sandhills/Thedford
  • Mullen at Cody-Kilgore
  • NPSP vs Bridgeport (SPVA Tournament)
  • Valentine at Ainsworth

 

Chadron State opens crucial hoops weekend with showdown against Highlands, Pueblo Saturday

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The highest scoring men’s basketball team in the RMAC will be among Chadron State’s guests this weekend.

New Mexico Highlands visits Friday night.  Led by 6-3 Raquan Mitchell and 6-4 Gerad Davis, both of whom are averaging 20.7 points, the Cowboys as a team are ringing up 89.7 points a game. They have tallied at least 100 points four times.

The Eagles, who pride themselves in playing stellar defense, figure to be challenged, but they are third among the 16 conference teams in field goal defense at 43.7 percent and first in three-point defense at 32.1 percent.

Mitchell leads the conference in three-pointers made with 58 and is shooting 42.3 percent from behind the arc. Davis has made half his three-point attempts, but he’s taken only 28.

Highlands also has an enforcer around the basket. Nnamdi Okoro, a 6-7 native of Nigeria, is the conference’s leading rebounder at 8.5 per game and has blocked 23 shots to share the RMAC lead.

He’s averaging 10.2 points and has the RMAC’s second best field goal percentage, 62.9 percent.

The Cowboys will come to town with a 12-3 record, including a 7-2 mark in the conference. Their losses have been to Western New Mexico 81-75 in the season opener and Dixie State 83-65 and Regis 93-90 in conference action.

The Eagles led all the way while nipping Dixie 64-61 last Saturday night. The CSC men are 7-8 overall and 5-4 in the conference.

CSC’s 5-4 conference mark is the best in over a decade at the point of mid-January.

Last weekend, Highlands knocked off Colorado Mesa 94-82 and Western State 94-84. Mitchell scored 70 points in the two games. He has a career-high of 40 and Davis has tallied 41.

The Highlands women’s team isn’t as potent as the men. The Cowgirls are 3-13 for the season and 1-8 in the RMAC. Their conference victory was over Adams State 66-62 on Dec. 8.

The Cowgirls’ top gun is 5-8 sophomore Jordyn Lewis at 14.2 points a game. She’s made 48 of 54 shots from the line this season. Allyah George, a 5-11 senior, is averaging 10.6 points and 6.0 rebounds.

On Saturday night, the Eagles’ second set of opponents will be from Colorado State-Pueblo.

The Lady ThunderWolves are 8-7 for the season and 6-3 in the RMAC. The men are 5-10 and 3-6.

Jenna Knafelc, a 5-9 senior, is the top threat for the women.  She’s averaging 14.3 points and has made 40 of the team’s 62 triples.  Khiya Adams, a 6-0 junior is averaging 13.2 points and 7.4 rebounds.

The Pueblo women were 6-1, losing to only Westminster, prior to last weekend when both Western Colorado and Colorado Mesa beat them by nine points in Pueblo.

The Pueblo men have defeated Dixie State, Colorado Christian and Western in league play.

Donovan Oldham, a 6-4 junior, is the scoring leader at 15.4 points a game. Jason Anderson, a 6-8 post, is next at 11.4 points.  Three more ThunderWolves are averaging at least 8.7

The Eagles will return the visits to Pueblo and Highlands, in that order, Feb. 22 and 23 when the season is about to end.

Former Kimball star Daum has rare 30-20 night in SDSU win

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Mike Daum scored 34 points and grabbed a career-high 21 rebounds and South Dakota State beat North Dakota 78-74 on Wednesday night to win its fourth straight.

Daum posted the nation’s fourth 30-20 game this season and recorded his sixth 30-point game of the season for the defending Summit League champions.

David Jenkins Jr. added 20 points and Skyler Flatten had 10 for the Jackrabbits (15-6, 5-1), who led 41-31 at halftime.

Daum’s jumper capped a 13-2 run for a 73-65 Jackrabbits’ lead with 4:26 left. His free throw with 46 seconds left put the Jackrabbits up 77-72, Cortez Seales’ layup pulled North Dakota within three points, Daum made 1 of 2 free throws and Seales’ 3 at the buzzer missed.

Marlon Stewart scored 19 points with five 3-pointers for North Dakota (8-11, 2-4), which hadn’t played SDSU since 2013. Seales scored 18 and Filip Rebraca added 15.

Warriors set NBA record for points in first quarter, thrash Nuggets 142-111

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Kevin Durant and the Golden State Warriors weren’t trying to send any sort of message or make any kind of statement against a team they were chasing in the Western Conference.

“They know who we are,” Durant said.

Still, message received.

Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson each scored 31 points as the Warriors, propelled by an NBA-record, 51-point first quarter, regained the top spot in the West by routing the Denver Nuggets 142-111 on Tuesday night.

“Beautiful, beautiful basketball,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “Just liked the way our guys moved the ball, the shot fakes, playing with purpose, playing with a simple style of execution but aggressive at the same time. Finding that balance is always what we’re looking for. That was as good as it gets for us.

“I don’t remember a better first quarter. That was a fireworks show.”

Golden State cruised to a fifth straight win to move a half-game in front of the Nuggets, who had their 12-game home winning streak snapped.

The showdown between the top two teams in the conference proved a little too big for the Nuggets, with Curry and Co. putting on a shooting exhibition all night long. Durant hit the first shot of the night, a 12-footer, as the Warriors broke the old first-quarter mark of 50 held by several teams. The last time it happened was also against Denver when Phoenix scored 50 on Nov. 10, 1990.

“They came in with an edge and we didn’t have that edge to start the game,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “I don’t think anybody on our team is scared of the Golden State Warriors or too respectful. They took it to another level and left us in the dust.”

Golden State shot a blistering 60 percent from the field, had 38 assists and hit 21 3-pointers — 10 in the first quarter — in leading wire-to-wire. Durant finished with 27 points and Draymond Green was a plus-41 as he had 13 assists to go with four points.

“When we make shots, we’re a tough team to beat,” Curry said.

Malik Beasley finished with 22 points for the Nuggets. Big man Nikola Jokic struggled with early foul trouble, finishing with 17 points and eight assists in 23 minutes.

“We’re not a bad team,” Jokic said. “The game just happened.”

Denver knocked off Golden State 100-98 in Denver on Oct. 21 thanks to Juancho Hernangomez blocking a layup at the buzzer. This version of the matchup was never close.

And this demonstrates just how dominant the Warriors were in the opening half: Denver scored 60, shooting 49 percent from the floor, and still trailed by 19 at the break.

As tempting is it might be to erase this game from memory, Malone won’t let his team hit the reset button.

“I don’t believe in flushing games when you get your (expletive) kicked,” Malone said. “Take this failure of tonight, learn from it and use it moving forward. If you can do that, this negative becomes a positive in the long run.”

TIP-INS

Warriors: Green was given a technical in the second quarter for arguing a call. … F Kevon Looney grabbed 12 rebounds.

Nuggets: G Gary Harris missed a fifth straight game with tightness in his left hamstring. … G Jamal Murray scored 21.

UP NEXT

Warriors: Host New Orleans on Wednesday. The Warriors are 5-1 in the second game of a back-to-back this season.

Nuggets: Host Chicago on Thursday. Denver has beaten the Bulls 11 straight times at Pepsi Center.

AROUND THE NBA – TUESDAY

—The 76ers poured in 83 points by halftime of a 149-107 thrashing of the Minnesota Timberwolves. Jimmy Butler scored 19 points on 8 of 10 shooting in his first meeting with the Wolves since being traded to Philadelphia early this season. Joel Embiid delivered 31 points and 13 rebounds, while Ben Simmons added 20 points and 11 boards.

— The Bucks crushed the Heat, 124-86 as Giannis Antetokounmpo produced 12 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in his fourth triple-double of the season. Eric Bledsoe had 17 points and Malcolm Brogdon added 16 in Milwaukee’s 13th win in 16 games since Dec. 14.

— Bojan Bogdanovic scored 20 points and Myles Turner returned from a three-game injury absence to added 18 with six rebounds in the Pacers’ 131-97 pounding of the Suns. Bogdanovic scored Indiana’s first 10 points en route to a 38-19 lead after one quarter.

— Trae Young had 24 points and 11 assists for the Hawks in a 142-126 shootout win over the Thunder. John Collins made 12 of 14 shots from the field and had a team-high 26 for Atlanta, which hit 18 of its 37 3-point attempts.

— Lonzo Ball scored 19 points and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 17 to help the Lakers beat the Bulls, 107-100 and improve to 4-7 since LeBron James strained a groin on Christmas Day. Ball provided 13 points after intermission and finished with eight boards and six assists as Los Angeles dealt Chicago its eighth straight loss.

High School Basketball Scoreboard – Tuesday, January 8

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High School Basketball Scoreboard – Tuesday, January 8

Boys

  • Alliance 68, Gordon-Rushville 23
  • Creek Valley 66, Minatare 63
  • Garden County 56, Potter-Dix 11
  • Hay Springs 55, Crawford 49
  • Leyton 45, South Platte 43
  • Mitchell 51, Pine Bluffs, WY 36
  • Sioux County 51, Edgemont, SD 45

Girls

  • Alliance 47, Gordon-Rushville 34
  • Bridgeport 59, Perkins County 22
  • Chase County 49, Kimball 25
  • Mitchell 51, Pine Bluffs, WY 36

(Source: NSAA)

CSC wrestling hosting RMAC dual in Rushville Thursday

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The Chadron State College wrestling team is hosting two Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference duals this week. The Eagles will clash with Colorado Mesa at Gordon-Rushville Middle School on Thursday night and take on Western Colorado in the Nelson Physical Activity Center at CSC on Friday night.

Both matches are due to start at 6 o’clock, but either match could begin a bit later, CSC Coach Brett Hunter said. The Thursday match, at Gordon-Rushville Middle School, will follow the high school match scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. The Western Colorado dual will commence upon the conclusion of the opening session of the Chadron High Invitational Tournament that will be in the NPAC both Friday and Saturday.

Hunter is pleased to be taking the Eagles to his hometown of Rushville. He was a state champion wrestler for the Longhorns in 2002 and 2004 and won national championships for the Eagles in 2007 and 2009. He’s been CSC’s head coach since 2012.

The Eagles have a 3-4 dual record, including a 2-3 mark in the conference with wins over San Francisco State and New Mexico Highlands and losses to Colorado Mines, Adams State and Colorado State-Pueblo.

Colorado Mesa is 4-5 for the season and 0-2 in the RMAC after losing to Western State and San Francisco State.

The Western Mountaineers are 8-3 in dual action and 2-1 in the conference. Besides beating Mesa, they have topped San Francisco State, but lost to Colorado Mines.

Western’s star is 174-pounder Brandon Supernaw, who is No. 1 at that weight in the current NCAA II rankings after placing third at that weight at the national tournament last season.

Hunter said another standout for the Mountaineers is Konnor Schmidt, who finished sixth at 197 pounds at nationals last year. He is competing at 184 this season, but is not ranked at that weight so far.

The Mountaineers are 19th in the Division II team rankings

Mesa has two wrestlers ranked among the top 10 nationally.  They are Eduardo Penha, 10th at 141 pounds, and Payton Tawater, sixth at 157. Tawater was not listed on the probable lineup headed into Thursday’s match.

The last two duals against Mesa, in January and December of 2017, were both 20-20 ties that CSC won by tiebreaker.

In the January match, the Eagles came back from down five points in the final bout at heavyweight when Cooper Cogdill teched his opponent in just one period. The deciding factor was most wins by pin, and CSC’s Taylor Summers had the only one that night.

In the December one, CSC again had the only pin, however that was balanced by the forfeit Mesa received at 197. The tiebreaker came down to most individual points, which CSC won 47-37.

Chadron State upended Western 18-17 in a January 2017 dual in Chadron, but the Mountaineers got the better of the Eagles the following December, by a score of 30-11.

Prep Basketball Scores and Schedules – Monday/Tuesday

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High School Basketball Scoreboard – Monday, January 14

Girls

  • Bayard 58, Creek Valley 39 (MAC Tourney)
  • Edgemont, SD 43, Hay Springs 30
  • Leyton 68, Potter-Dix 26 (MAC Tourney)
  • Minatare 47, Garden County 26 (MAC Tourney)
  • Morrill 43, Hemingford 17

Boys

  • Bridgeport 47, Kimball 24

 

High School Basketball Schedule – Tuesday, January 15

Girls

  • Alliance at Gordon/Rushville
  • Mitchell at Pine Bluffs, WY

Boys

  • Leyton vs. South Platte (MAC Tourney)
  • Minatare vs. Creek Valley (MAC Tourney)
  • Alliance at Gordon/Rushville
  • Mitchell at Pine Bluffs, WY

 

(Source: NSAA)

Huskers lead wire-to-wire in big win at #25 Indiana

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The Nebraska basketball team started fast and finished strong Monday night, never trailing No. 25 Indiana in a 66-51 victory over the Hoosiers at Assembly Hall.

The Huskers scored the first nine points of the game and held Indiana without a basket over the final 5:38 en route to picking up their first road victory over a ranked opponent in more than two years. With the win, Nebraska improved to 13-4 on the season and the Huskers evened their Big Ten Conference record at 3-3. Indiana fell to 12-5 overall and dropped to 3-3 in league play.

Nebraska’s seniors shined in the upset win. Glynn Watson Jr. paced the Huskers with 15 points – including 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting in the second half – while Isaac Copeland chipped in 14 points and eight rebounds. James Palmer Jr. filled up the stat sheet with 11 points, a career-high-tying nine rebounds and a season-high seven assists. Tanner Borchardt was big off the bench, scoring seven points – one shy of his career high – and grabbing five rebounds. Together, the four seniors combined for 47 points and 27 rebounds, while sophomore Thomas Allen added 10 points for the Big Red and junior Isaiah Roby had nine points and four rebounds.

Defensively, the Huskers held Indiana to a season-low 51 points, 12 points fewer than the Hoosiers managed against No. 2 Michigan. Nebraska also limited Indiana to a season-worst 36.5 percent from the field and held the Hoosiers to a season-low two 3-pointers. Romeo Langord led Indiana with a game-high 18 points, but he was just 5-of-14 from the field. Juwan Morgan added 17 points, but no other Hoosier had more than five points.

Nebraska started the game fast, hitting its first four shots to race out to a 9-0 lead less than three minutes into the contest. The Hoosiers answered with five straight points before Nebraska responded with a 16-2 run to build a 25-7 lead with nine minutes remaining in the half. The Huskers held Indiana scoreless for more than six minutes at one point during the run, outscoring the Hoosiers 11-0 in that stretch, with Copeland scoring six of those 11 points.

Following the 16-2 run, Nebraska went cold from the field, missing 12 straight shots. A nearly nine-minute drought without a field goal allowed Indiana to trim the lead to single digits. The Hoosiers used an 11-0 run to cut the deficit to 26-20 with one minute left in the half. Copeland snapped the drought with a 3-pointer that pushed the lead back to nine, and after a pair of Indiana free throws, Palmer closed the half with a driving, one-handed dunk to send the Huskers into the locker room with a 31-22 lead.

Both teams struggled with their shot in the first half, with Nebraska shooting 39.4 percent from the field and Indiana hitting only 29.6 percent of its shots. The Huskers held the Hoosiers 22 points, their lowest point total in any half this season. Copeland led Nebraska with 10 first-half points, while Palmer had seven points, six rebounds and four assists in the period.

Nebraska stretched its lead back to double digits in the opening two minutes of the second half before Indiana scored seven straight points to pull within three at 35-32. But Watson responded by knocking down back-to-back 3-pointers to fuel an 8-0 run that pushed the Husker lead back to 11 six minutes into the half.

The teams then went back and forth, with Nebraska hitting 6-of-7 shots at one point, culminating with a Allen three that gave Nebraska a 57-44 lead with eight minutes remaining. The Huskers maintained their 13-point advantage over the next four minutes, with Nebraska on top 62-49 with 3:23 remaining. Indiana never got closer than that, as Nebraska held the Hoosiers without a field goal over the final 5:39.

The Huskers hit 14 of their 27 second-half shots and out-scored Indiana 35-29 in the final period.

Nebraska returns to action on Thursday when the Huskers face their second straight ranked opponent in No. 6 Michigan State. Tipoff between the Huskers and Spartans is set for 7 p.m. at Pinnacle Bank Arena

Cyza Selected to Coaches Association All-Star Volleyball Game

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Standing: Alliance Volleyball Coach Jessica Kaiser. Sitting L-R: Pam Cyza, Emerson Cyza.

 

Alliance High School Senior Emerson Cyza has been selected  to play in the 36th Annual,  Nebraska Coaches Association, All-Star Volleyball Game.  28 of the top players in the State of Nebraska were chosen for the All-Star match , to be played Tuesday, July 23, at Lincoln North Star High School.  The players will be split up into 2 teams…Red and Blue…and play a 5 set match as part of the annual Nebraska Coaches Association , Coaches Clinic.

Emerson is a four year starter and the AHS school record holder for kills in a season and career. She broke her record with 571 kills this season and lead the Bulldogs to school records for wins with 23 last season and 29 this season. Alliance also qualified for the State Tournament for the first time in 18 years.  She was the Star Herald Player of the Year in 2017 and a 2nd Team All Stater last year as well as an All Western Conference selection in 2017. She was a Class B, 1st Team All-State and All Western Conference selection this past season.  She has signed a Letter of Intent of play volleyball for the University of Wyoming.  Emerson is the daughter of Pam and Jim Cyza of Alliance.

The Coaches for this years All-Star match will be,  Sue Wewel of Archbiship Bergan, Head Coach for the Red Team, assisted by Scott Anderson of Freeman.   Head Coach for the Blue Team will be Lindsay Peterson of Millard North, assisted by Kristi Allen of Blue Hill.  The Match will begin at 7 pm (CT).  Listed below is the entire 28 player roster .

Kacey Allen,  Blue Hill….Lib/OH
Michaela Bartels,  Bennington….MH
Taya Beller,   Humphrey…. MH/RS
Emily Bressman,   Omaha Marian…. OH
Bree Burtwistle,  Stanton…. OH/RS/S
Kelsi Cada,  Bishop Neumann…. OH
Jaiden Centeno,  Millard West…. Lib/DS
Sami Clarkson,  Omaha Concordia…. S
Emersen Cyza,  Alliance…. OH
Jaden Ferguson,  Lincoln Southwest…. OH
Haley Fox,  St. Paul…. OH
Emma Gabel,  Lincoln Pius X…. Lib/DS
Emmy Grant,  Millard North…. MH
Kayla Haynes,  Freeman…. MH/OH
Whitney Jensen,  Northwest…. MH
Allie Kerns,  Millard North…. OH/RS
Lexie Langley,  Archbishop…. Bergan OH
Elly Larson,  Wahoo…. OH
Mara LeGrand,  Papillion-La Vista South…. S
Hope Leimbach,  Lincoln Lutheran…. S
Anna McLain,  Lincoln Pius X…. RS
Brooklyn Minzel,  Malcolm…. OH/Lib/DS
Camryn Opfer,  Seward…. OH
Fallon Stutheit,  Johnson-Brock…. MH
Kyla Swanson,  Wahoo…. MH
Maddie Wieseler,  Hartington Cedar Catholic ….RS/S
Megan Woods,  Grand Island CC…. OH
Emma Worthington,  Omaha Duchesne…. S