CHADRON, Neb. — The Chadron State College men's basketball team has received a huge shot in the arm during its recent victory surge from one of the newer Eagles.
No, Chris Curtis, a 6-foot-4 multi-purpose player, is not a freshman. In fact, he's a senior, but the first time he'd ever been to Nebraska was when he enrolled in classes in August.
Curtis, a native of Tustin, Calif., was a standout basketball player at Tustin High. He then attended nearby Orange Coast Community College, where he averaged about 11 points and four rebounds as a freshman and nearly 19 points and eight rebounds as a sophomore.
The latter stats were good enough to draw the attention of numerous recruiters. Among them was CSC coach Brent Bargen, but Chaminade University in Hawaii made a better offer and Curtis went there in 2010-11.
He shot 47 percent from the field and averaged 7.3 points a game last season, but there were two coaching changes in a short period of time and he decided to return to the mainland to complete his basketball career and graduate.
Last spring when Bargen was searching for talent again, he placed another call to Orange Coast College. He connected with Ye Tran, a former Metro State assistant who is now an assistant at the California college. Tran didn't recommend anyone from last year's Orange Coast team, but noted that Curtis was looking to transfer. The CSC coach got back in touch with him.
Throughout the season, Curtis has played well. He's averaging 11.6 points and 4.7 rebounds through 23 games.
But he's shot 60.6 percent from the field and averaged 16.4 points the last nine games, and he really starred last weekend. That's when the Eagles did what in the past has been impossible — sweep Metro State and Regis in Denver. It's never happened since the Denver teams joined the RMAC in 1996.
In the two games, Curtis hit 17 of 25 field-goal attempts, including four of five 3s, made nine of 11 free throws, grabbed 14 rebounds and scored 24 points against Metro and 23 against Regis.
"It's kind of ironic that a former coach at Metro helped me make contact with Chris and he's the one who led the way in beating Metro," said Bargen, whose team has won eight of its last 10 games.
"He's a good kid from a good home and has a big heart," Bargen added. "He's fit in well with the returning players and they have welcomed him to the team. We've got good chemistry, and that's part of the reason why we're winning some tough games."
Curtis, a communications major who expects to graduate in another year, said there's definitely a major change in his game since he was a high school and community college star.
"I'm finally playing a little defense," he said. "My old coaches used to get on me about not playing good defense. I'm enjoying playing it now."
Last Friday night against Metro State, Curtis was the Eagle' defensive stopper. He was assigned to Metro's top gun and the preseason RMAC Player of the Year, Reggie Evans.
The Roadrunners' senior was limited to four field goals in 14 shots and nine points.
And, Bargen points out, a late 3-pointer that Evans hit came after a defensive switch and Curtis was guarding someone else.
"Chris has definitely given us a big boost," Bargen said. "He's blended with the other seniors (Kevin McClelland, Christian McGhee and Moala Tautuaa) to give us great leadership."
Crunch time for Eagles
CHADRON, Neb. — It's crunch time for the Chadron State College basketball teams, and everyone seems to be enjoying it.
For the first time in at least a decade and maybe even longer, both Chadron State teams are playing key games as the schedule plays out.
The action is expected to be hectic this weekend, when the Eagles will entertain Colorado-Colorado Springs on Friday and Colorado State-Pueblo on Saturday in RMAC doubleheaders. The doubleheaders will start at 6 p.m.
While both CSC teams have been winning much more often than usual (the men have won eight of 10 and the women seven of 11), they need to win more to rank among the top eight teams at the end of the season and qualify for the conference playoffs.
The CSC men enter the weekend at 10-13 overall and 10-9 in the RMAC, putting them in a three-way tie for sixth place in the standings. The women are 8-15 overall and 8-11 in the conference, putting them in a two-way deadlock for ninth.
The Colorado Springs women are 13-11 overall and 8-10 in the RMAC. The Lady Eagles beat them 69-57 in Colorado Springs on Jan. 21, but the Mountain Lions are fresh from sweeping Adams State (67-36) and Fort Lewis (84-78) at home last weekend.
The latter was a huge upset because Fort Lewis entered the game at 19-2 and was ranked sixth in NCAA Division II.
Freshman Abby Kirchoff scored 52 points in the two games to win the RMAC Offensive Player of the Week honor. She is averaging 12.5 points for the season.
The Lions' men are young and are 7-17 after losing eight in a row. However, four of the recent setbacks have been by six or fewer points, including a 78-73 decision to Chadron State in January.
The Pueblo women have clinched a playoff berth. They are 18-4 and 15-3, losing only to Fort Lewis (19-3) twice and Metro State (21-2) once. Three ThunderWolves are averaging in double figures, led by Kendall Babler at 13 and Jennelle Branting at 12.
Pueblo clipped the Eagles 61-49 at home on Jan. 20.
Like CSC, the Pueblo men are fighting to make the playoffs. They are 12-10 overall and 9-9 in the RMAC. They edged Fort Lewis 77-73 and Adams State 99-98 in double overtime last weekend.
The ThunderWolves won 82-57 when CSC visited Pueblo in January.
Pueblo features a balanced attack. Arden Dennis is averaging 14.3 points, Andre Martin 14.2, Ty Trahern 13.2 and Bryse Velesquez 11.2. Each is listed as a guard with Martin the tallest at 6-4. Another guard, 6-2, Ryan Arel, led his team with 20 points against the Eagles.
Trahern hit what was described as "a 3-point hook shot" that gave Pueblo its 99-98 win over Adams State. He scored 34 points in the game and tallied 20 against Fort Lewis the previous night. His feats beat out CSC's Chris Curtis, who scored 47 points in the two games last weekend, as the RMAC Offensive Player of the Week.
After this weekend, the Eagles will wrap up their regular schedule by hosting the University of Nebraska at Kearney on Feb. 25.
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