Jan 24, 2025

Miles & Ballard carry CSC to key RMAC win Thursday night

Posted Jan 24, 2025 4:26 PM
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By: Paxton Ritchie
CSC Sports Information Director

CHADRON, Neb. – Darrius Miles scored 21 points, Trey Ballard came off the bench to score 17 and the Chadron State men's basketball team got back to winning ways with a 71-59 victory over Westminster at the Chicoine Center Thursday night.

The Eagles improved to 8-9 overall and 4-5 in RMAC play with the win. Westminster dropped down to 9-8 overall and 3-6 in conference.

Miles, a 6-foot-11 center from Texas, shot 8 of 11 from the field and stepped out to hit 3 of 4 three-pointers. Thursday marked Miles's second-highest point total of the season behind a 22-point game against Central Christian back on December 16. In addition to his 21 points, Miles added seven rebounds and two blocks.

Ballard has now scored in double figures in four consecutive games and has eight games with 10 points or more this season, all coming off the bench. Ballard shot 6-for-10 from the field and also hit three three-pointers.

Zy Wright added 15 points for the Eagles while Jalen Thomas chipped in eight and Julio Phipps seven. Phipps racked up a game-high 10 rebounds and also finished with four assists, a block and a steal.

Chadron State finished with 15 assists and only nine turnovers, just the third time this season CSC has finished with under 10 giveaways. The Eagles shot 50.9 percent from the field, 44.4 percent from three (8-18) and 69 percent from the line (9-13).

By contrast, the Eagles limited Westminster to 40 percent shooting and 31 percent from behind the arc. The Eagles played tenacious defense throughout the contest, using a zone defense at times and often forcing the Griffins to use up much of the shot clock before taking a contested shot.

The two teams traded points early, with Westminster taking a 5-2 lead early. Chadron State went inside with three straight layups from Miles, Wright and Jalen Thomas to take a 10-7 lead. Westminster hit a three to tie the score, but Wright answered 30 seconds later with a three of his own to make it 13-10, CSC. The Eagles led the rest of the way.

Wright's three kicked off a 17-2 run that allowed the Eagles to build a 15-point lead, featuring additional threes from Miles (twice) and Ballard. Chadron State's largest lead of the game came with 3:37 left in the first half as a Miles jumper put the Eagles up 38-21.

Westminster rallied, closing the half on an 11-2 run to go into halftime down by only eight at 40-32. The Griffins would cut the lead to as close as five points at 49-44 with 14:12 left to play, but after a Jalen Thomas jumper put the Eagles up by 11 with 9:16 to go, the lead never got below double digits again.

Chadron State will have a tough test coming up in Colorado Mesa (11-6, 5-4 RMAC). The Mavericks have won seven in a row after a 4-6 start and defeated Black Hills State on the road in overtime on Thursday. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. Saturday at the Chicoine Center.

Chadron State— Darrius Miles 21, Trey Ballard 17, Zy Wright 15, Jalen Thomas 8, Julio Phipps 7, Zach Smith 3. Totals: 27-53 FG, 8-18 3PT, 9-13 FT. 71 points, 33 rebounds, 15 assists, 9 turnovers.