By: Paxton Ritchie
CSC Sports Information Director
KANSAS CITY – Chadron State men's basketball hung with one of Division II's most storied programs for a half before the No. 20-ranked Northwest Missouri State Bearcats pulled away for a 74-57 victory at the Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri.
The Eagles, who trailed by just four points at halftime, enjoyed a CSC career-high 18-point night from senior forward Julio Phipps, who added 10 rebounds for a double-double.
Northwest Missouri State improved to 1-2. The Bearcats, who won four Division II national titles in five years from 2917-2022 but are now rebuilding with a new coaching staff, received 21 points from Luke Moustakas, who entered the game as their leading scorer.
The loss drops Chadron State to 1-2 on the season. The Eagles will stay in Kansas City and play tomorrow morning against NAIA school Ottawa University (Kansas), with tipoff set for 10:00 a.m. MT (11:00 a.m. local/CT).
Phipps, a Bronx, New York native and second-year Eagle after playing two seasons at Porterville College, made his first start of the year for CSC after making seven starts among 25 appearances last season.
Phipps scored 18 points while shooting 8 of 11 from the field. Among his 10 rebounds, six were offensive boards to create second-chance opportunities for the Eagles. Phipps also added three blocked shots.
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.
Behind Phipps, veteran guard Jalen Thomas finished with 13 points, six rebounds and three steals while shooting 5-for-5 from the free-throw line. Trey Ballard tallied his third straight game in double figures to open the year, scoring 12 points on 4 of 11 shooting.
Despite the loss, Chadron State won the rebounding battle for the third consecutive game to start the season, nabbing 40 rebounds compared to Northwest Missouri's 36. The advantage was especially apparent on the offensive glass, with Chadron State grabbing 15 offensive rebounds and outscoring the Bearcats 13-0 in second chance points.
The Eagles finished with eight assists and 15 turnovers, while the Bearcats had more of both with 19 assists and 17 turnovers.
The Eagles were stride-for-stride with their nationally ranked opponents for the first 30 minutes. CSC took an early 6-5 lead thanks to a layup from Phipps and back-to-back buckets from Jalen Thomas. Although the Bearcats took a 14-8 lead, the Eagles went on a 7-0 scoring run with a jumper from Darrius Miles and a three and a two from Ballard to go ahead 15-14.
While that would be CSC's last lead of the night, the Bearcats didn't lead by more than eight at any point during the first half and only had a four-point 32-28 advantage at halftime. Unfortunately for the Eagles, their shooting went cold after the break.
After shooting 41 percent from the field in the first half, CSC dipped to 26 percent in the second half. The Eagles were 0-11 from three-point range in the second half and 1-18 for the game.
Chadron State outpaced the Bearcats in several more categories, earning the stats edge in steals (9 to 7), blocks (4 to 2), points off turnovers (16 to 12), points in the paint (34 to 30) and bench points (24 to 9).
Chadron State— Julio Phipps 18, Jalen Thomas 13, Trey Ballard 12, Zy Wright 6, Darrius Miles 6, Jaylen Davis 2. Totals: 21-65 FG, 1-18 3PT, 14-19 FT. 57 points, 40 rebounds, 8 assists, 15 turnovers.