SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Chadron State men's basketball endured a difficult afternoon against the 2023-24 Division II national champions, falling to Minnesota State by an 81-52 score to conclude play at the University of Sioux Falls Classic.

The Eagles received 13 points and eight rebounds from Blessing Adesipe, but shot 31.6 percent from the field overall, making just two of 16 three-point attempts. An exception was at the free throw line, where they sank 14 of 15. 

Chadron State got off to a solid start, tying the score 12-12 on a pair of free throws by Adesipe midway in the first half.  But the Mavericks outscored the Eagles 18-4 in the next seven minutes to take a 30-16 lead. Minnesota State led 39-24 at halftime, then outscored the Eagles 42-28 in the second half.

The Mavericks, now 5-2, didn't burn the nets, shooting 41.2% overall from the field, but helped pull away from their opponent by making 12 of 31 shots from behind the arc. The winners also out-rebounded CSC 48-34.

Behind Adesipe, point guard Mack Keighran added 12 points while going 8-of-9 at the free throw line. Senior Zach Smith, who hit the winning 3-pointer with less than 10 second remaining earlier in the week when the Eagles nipped the Mary Marauders from Bismarck 83-82, added 11 points.

Arhman Lewis, also a senior guard, paced the Minnesota team with 16 points while making 4-of-5 treys and all four of his free shots.  Malcolm Jones contributed 13 points, Traijan Sain 11 and Colton Benson 10.  

Caden Kirkman added eight points and grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds. Jones came away with nine caroms.  Both Kirkman and Jones are 6-8. 

Now 1-4 for the season, the Eagles will be busy next weekend.  They'll host Northern State of Aberdeen, S.D., at 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 29 and Colorado Christian at 1:30 the next day.         

Minnesota State—Arhman Lewis 16, Malcolm Jones 13, Traijan Sain 11, Colton Benson 10, Caden Kirkman 8, Dave Harmon 7, Will Opsahl 6. Carson Schweim 5, Joe Buchanan 3, Chase Bartlett 2. Totals: 26-68 FG (12-31 3PT) 13-18 FT. 81 points, 48 rebounds, 15 assists, 8 turnovers.

Chadron State—Blessing Adesipe 13, Mack Keighran 12, Zach Smith 11, Luka Djurovic 8, Ethan Russell 4, Isaiah Randolph 4. Totals: 18-57 FG (2-16 3PT) 14-15 FT. 52 points, 34 rebounds, 7 assists, 13 turnovers.

Women's Hoops Outscored vs. Wayne State

WAYNE, Neb. – All 13 Wayne State players scored as the Wildcats raced past Chadron State 95-53 in a women's non-conference basketball game played in Wayne.  

Audrey Quintana scored 15 points for the Eagles while freshman Kenna Wagner poured in 14, but long scoring droughts in the first half allowed Wayne State to open up a large lead and cruise from there. Quintana shot 6-for-12 from the field and made three three-pointers.

Amya Winfrey lead the Eagles defensively with two blocks and six rebounds. Wagner and Asia Gibson each had two steals.

The teams traded points early and were tied at 11-11 in the first four-and-a-half minutes. But the Eagles didn't score the remainder of the opening quarter, allowing Wayne State to take a 21-11 lead at the first break.

The Wildcats extended their lead to 30-16 in the first four minutes of the second period. Chadron State scored the next five points, but failed to score again in the quarter while the hosts poured in 17 straight points to build a 47-21 halftime margin.

Wayne State also had a strong third quarter, making 10 of 15 field goal shots and outscoring CSC 26-13 to hold a 73-44 lead going into the final 10 minutes.  

Things were much more even in the fourth, when the Cats scored 22 points and the Eagles 19.

Wayne State, now 4-0 for the season was 36-69 (52.2 percent) overall from the field, but did even better than that from 3-point range, making 11 of 18 (61.1 percent). 

Chadron State was 19 of 52 (36.5 percent) from the field, including 8 of 28 (28.6 percent) from behind the arc. CSC was nearly perfect from the free throw line, making 7 of 8, but the hosts were 12-22 at the stripe to still have the advantage on the scoreboard. The Eagles turned the ball over 36 times and the Wildcats 19. Wayne won the rebounding battle 40-33.

Coach Jalen Little's team will visit the University of Wyoming on Tuesday, Nov. 25, and go to Northern Colorado on Friday for exhibition games before opening its RMAC season at Black Hills State at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 4. The first home game will be versus South Dakota Mines at 1 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 6 in the Chicoine Center. 

Chadron State—Audrey Quintana 15, Kenna Wagner 14, McKenzi Petersen 6, Ella Moser 6, Amya Winfrey 5, Dreanna Jackson 3, Asia Gibson 2, Bianca Bindzus 2. Totals: 19-52  FG (8-28 3PT) 7-8 FT. 53 points, 33 rebounds, 9 assists, 36 turnovers.

Wayne State—Rachel Dahlen 15, Tenleigh Smith 12, Kelsey Willems 11, Kylah vanDonkersgoed 10, Emma Frost 9, Lily Fitzgerald 7, Addy Johnson 7, Ella Sharar 7, Cassie Allen 7, Sammie Allen 3, Katelyn Diegnau 3, Meg Reitz 2, Jessica Black 2. Totals: 36-69 FG (11-18 3PT) 12-22 FT. 95 points, 40 rebounds, 21 assists, 19 turnovers.

Vollendroff, Balcazar Win at Minot Open

MINOT, N.D. – Brianna Vollendroff (103 pounds) and Rylee Balcazar (110 pounds) each won their respective weight classes at the Minot State Open, helping end the weekend on a positive note after the Eagles went 0-3 in duals on Friday. 

Vollendroff and Balcazar joined freshman Eliza Davis (3rd, 145), redshirt freshman Adrianna Lopez (3rd/4th, 117) and senior Shania Wear (3rd/4th, 117) as tournament placers during Saturday's open. 

In Friday's duals, the Eagles lost 30-18 to hosts Minot State, 31-14 to Sioux Falls and 23-20 to the University of Saskatchewan in Canada. Forfeits loomed large, as CSC gave up five points in both the USF and Saskatchewan duals, enough to flip the margin of victory against the Canadian opponents.

Vollendroff and Balcazar both had unbeaten weekends. Vollendroff, a senior, won in all three duals, twice by forfeit and once via a 40-second pin, then needed only 2:31 combined to pin a pair of opponents – Minot State's Kaiya Lopes and Bismarck State's Jennifer Verdin – in the semifinals and finals to win the 103-pound tourney.

Balcazar was nearly as impressive, winning with a tech fall, a pin and a forfeit in CSC's three duals, then going 3-0 with three pins in the open. Balcazar pinned Bismark State's Hallyann Turner in 1:22, Dakota Wesleyan's Cerys Gardner in 2:35 and Sioux Falls's Paw Hobza in 1:31 during tournament action. 

Shania Wear and Adrianna Lopez went 3-1 and 2-1, respectively, in the 117-pound bracket. Both Wear and Lopez pinned opponents in the consolation semifinals to set up a 3rd/4th-place matchup against one another, which was not contested. 

Freshman Eliza Davis, of Kaysville, Utah, made a mark at 145 pounds, with a 3-1 day featuring three falls. Davis beat Minot State and Sioux Falls wrestlers in 44 and 46 seconds, respectively, then pinned Saskatchewan's Ligaya Stinellis in 1:11 in the third-place match. Her only blemish was a semifinal criteria decision loss to Dickinson State's Savannah Brehm. 

Former national qualifiers Piper Cadden and Esther Peters did not compete all weekend. Reigning RMAC Wrestler of the Week Desza Munson competed in the duals, but sat out the open.
 
Friday's dual results:
vs. Minot State (L, 30-18)
103: Brianna Vollendroff (CSC) def. Kaiya Lopes, Fall 0:40
110: Rylee Balcazar (CSC) wins by forfeit
117: Trona Bates (CSC) wins by forfeit
124: Skye Shelmerdine (Minot) def. Shania Wear, Fall 0:59
131: Alyssa Jones (Minot) def. Maddox Gehlhausen, Fall 2:10
138: Lovey Beebe (Minot) def. Nevaeh Leonard, Dec. 3-1
145: Haleigh Lematta (Minot) def. Desza Munson, TF 12-2
160: Aliana Barnoski (Minot) wins by forfeit
180: Madilyn Schuck (Minot) wins by forfeit
207: Aniya Herbin (Minot) def. Estrella Vasquez-Gutierrez, TF 11-1
 
vs. Sioux Falls (L, 31-14)
103: Brianna Vollendroff (CSC) wins by forfeit
110: Rylee Balcazar (CSC) def. Paw Hobza, TF 10-0
117: Shania Wear (CSC) def. Abigail Wilfong, TF 13-0
124: Hanah Schuster (USF) def. Trona Bates, TF 10-0
131: Mackenzie Armagost (USF) def. Maddox Gehlhausen, Fall 2:07
138: Brinley Green-Griffin (USF) def. Nevaeh Leonard, Dec. 8-3
145: Ciana Grate (USF) def. Desza Munson, Fall 3:25
160: Aliyah Villareal (USF) wins by forfeit
180: Rachel Berger (USF) wins by forfeit
207: Zoe Adam (USF) def. Estrella Vasquez-Gutierrez, Fall 0:37

vs. Saskatchewan (L, 20-23)
103: Brianna Vollendroff (CSC) wins by forfeit
110: Rylee Balcazar (CSC) def. Kyra Thompson, Fall 0:48
117: Baylee Turner (SAS) def. Trona Bates, Fall 1:22
124: Sierra Mullin (SAS) def. Shania Wear, Dec. 6-1
131: Abby Wolff (SAS) def. Maddox Gehlhausen, Fall 1:47
138: Nevaeh Leonard (CSC) def. Alexis Lavers, TF 10-0
145: Desza Munson (CSC) def. Ligaya Stinellis, Fall 0:59
160: Taebyn Tulp (SAS) wins by forfeit
180: Kate McLachlan (SAS) wins by forfeit
207: No contest

Callahan, McDermott Place at UNK Open

KEARNEY, Neb. – Unattached wrestler and Rapid City freshman Aidan Callahan won the Amateur division 149-pound bracket at the Younes Hospitality Open Saturday, leading two Eagle placers among a squad of mostly reserves competing at the open hosted by Nebraska-Kearney.

The annual large-scale tournament featured brackets in 10 weight classes across three divisions – "Elite," "Intermediate" and "Amateur." A total of 13 Eagles participated on Saturday, with one competing in the Elite divisions, four at Intermediate and eight at Amateur.

Alongside Callahan, CSC's other placer was junior Wyatt McDermott, who took home fourth place in the Intermediate 149-pound bracket and finished 5-2 on the day. McDermott, a junior, transferred to CSC this year from Western Wyoming College.

Other successful CSC wrestlers included Kyle Lewis (2-2, Intermediate 133), Cyrus Wells (2-2, Intermediate 141), Drew Janke (2-2, Amateur 133), Brooks Loosvelt (2-2, Amateur 184), and Cody Netherton (2-2, Amateur 285). 

Freshmen Zane Cullers (a Chadron High graduate) and Logan Soileau each went 1-2 in the Amateur division at 165 pounds. Caleb Nadig, Skyler Geier-Dodson, Payne Reilly and Iverson Mejia all went 0-2. 

Nadig, a redshirt junior from Nisland, South Dakota who won the Rocky Mountain Open at 149 pounds last season, was the only Chadron State wrestler on the day to compete in the Elite division. Nadig faced wrestlers from Nebraska-Kearney and Augustana. 

Callahan, who attended Rapid City Stevens High School, went a perfect 5-0 in the Amateur 149 bracket. After a first-round bye, Callahan tech falled Barton's Brennen Pfannenstiel 18-2 in the second round and escaped with a third-round 5-4 decision win over Western Wyoming College's Tommy Dalton. 

From there, Callahan was dominant, racking up major decision wins in each of the last three rounds. Callahan beat Western Colorado's Matthew Ausel 11-2, Air Force Prep's Colson Hoffman 12-3 and Western Colorado's Celestino Gonzalez 14-4 to wrap up the title.

McDermott matched up against eventual bracket champion Royce Uhrig of Adams State in the first round, falling by major decision (11-2), but stormed through the consolation bracket. McDermott beat a pair of RMAC foes in CSU Pueblo's Preston Holt (Fall 4:46) and Adams State's Travis Vialpando (4-1 dec.), then beat Augustana's Kade Sammons by 8-1 decision.

McDermott won by 17-1 tech fall over Briar Cliff's Trystan Berry, then pinned Midland's Zion Amerson in just over two minutes to advance all the way to the third-place match, where he was bested by another Augustana wrestler, Hudson Loges. 

The Eagles will have Thanksgiving week off before a best-on-best December 5 dual showdown with No. 1-ranked Nebraska-Kearney and the prestigious Midwest Classic in Indianapolis on December 13-14.